Swimming lessons for Zachary and Nicolas

The boys have been enrolled in swimming lessons since the pool at the end of the street was opened.  At first they had the same instructor, Alec, as they did 2 years ago.  This was a good thing since they remembered him. After being thrown into the pool for the first swim, they did really well.  Last Thursday was their first lesson with a new instructor.  They had to change the schedule and therefore the instructor had to change.  They did not react at all well to this change.  They both threw fits and tantrums at the pool.  I had to drag them home kicking and screaming.

I decided it was not a good idea to wait too long before getting them back in for another lesson.  So, I got them a lesson with Alec the following day.  It went amazingly well.  So, we chatted about how I wanted them to act similarly with their new instructor, Patrick.  On Monday, they had their second lesson with Patrick and they jumped right in.  They had a blast with him and did so well.  They are now unbelievably comfortable with him and are learning so much.  Their confidence in the water has improved so much.  Zachary is even confident enough to jump in from the side (with his bubble on).  Nicolas is still nervous about going under the water but is getting better with every day.

Here are some videos I took of them swimming this morning...

Nicolas:

Zachary:

Charlie is officially walking!

Charlie has pretty much been walking for a few weeks now but he has officially taken the plunge.  He is walking more and more.  He chooses to walk in most cases when he could crawl or cruise.  He still cruises quite a bit but he can now walk across a room. 

Here is a little video of him walking over to me in the kitchen this morning...

Happy Canada Day!

We got to spend the day at Auntie Carolyn and Uncle Randy's house today.  They had a fun family pool party in honor of Canada Day.  The boys had a great time and were amazing in the pool.  They were so brave and swam around with the pool noodles like champs!  It is amazing just how much courage and confidence they have built up since their first swimming lesson on Friday.

They worked so hard and had so much fun that this is what a good part of our ride home was like...

Thank you for sending me home with some very tired boys!  Should be a great night's sleep for all!!

Charlie's new car seat

We finally got Charlie is new car seat yesterday.  We installed it this afternoon and he took his first ride in it this evening.  He loved it!  He was so excited and so proud to be sitting in a seat like his big brothers.  Here is a picture of him sitting in it...

Visit to the Biodome

This morning we packed the kids up and took them to the Biodome.  For those who don't know, it's kind of like a zoo that recreates various ecosystems.  It houses wildlife and animals from each of those ecosystems.  It is quite the beautiful place and lots of fun for the kids.

Here are a few pictures from our fun morning...

Tropical birds:

The otter:

A beaver:

Charlie in an egg:

Zachary and Nicolas in the same egg!

Nicolas and Zachary checking out the otters:

Charlie was so excited he was squealing while watching the penguins:

Zachary and Nicolas in front of the penguin picture (it was their favorite):

Zachary learns to ride

Tonight Zachary figured out how to ride his bicycle.  He learned how to pedal it all by himself.  Steve managed to get it on video....

Charlie is 1... Happy birthday little man!

I cannot believe that a whole year has gone by since the day he was born.  It seems like yesterday that he entered the world and yet it is hard to remember a time when he was not part of our family.

He is such a wonderful little man!  He is so smart and communicates very effectively.  He makes his needs and wants very much known.  He also wants to be in the middle of everything.  He loves to play with his big brothers and refuses to be left out.  He will claw his way to get in between them.  If one of the other boys takes a toy from him, he will chase after him to get it back.  He will not be bullied.

He is not walking on his own yet but he is so close.  He has figured out how to get around the house by using any available piece of furniture, walls, etc...  He just gets so excited about walking that his feet start to move before he even has them steadied.  He is great at pulling himself up and can even get himself back down to the ground when he wants to crawl.

Here are a few pictures from various birthday celebrations we have had for him...

In case you're wondering it was not a cupcake with a candle but an ice cream cone.  My boys are not huge fans of cake and much preferred an ice cream cone.  So, that's what we did.  Charlie ended up eating 3 of the baby cones!