Swimming Progress

Zachary and Nicolas started swimming lessons a few months ago at our local indoor pool.  They were lucky enough to have an amazing teacher Dan with whom thy hit it off right away.  I was so happy about that.  Throughout the last few weeks Zachary has been making amazing progress.  He is really getting the hang of swimming without his bubble and as even swam the width of the pool unassisted.  He is now jumping into the pool without any help (with his bubble on) and with minor help without the bubble.  I am so proud of his hard work.  It's really paying off....

(Zachary's video to come...)

Nicolas on the other hand had been regressing since his lessons this summer.  He was no longer willing to swim without his bubble.  It has been so frustrating!  I know he can do so much better than he has been but he was unwilling to even try.  I had a long chat with him on Monday after his lesson and I was hoping that things would improve.  I ended up taking only Nicolas to their lessons this morning since Zachary ran a fever yesterday and was throwing up.  (Zachary was much better this morning and has been back to himself today).  So, I left Zachary and Charlie with Mom-I and headed to the pool alone with Nicolas.  I don't know if being alone with him was a factor as to why things turned around today, but they did!  He managed to swim almost half way across the pool unassisted and without a bubble!  Here is part of his second swim...

Trick or Treating 2012!

We had an amazing day!  The boys had a private swimming lesson this morning since they were the only ones who showed up!

We carved our pumpkins during Charlie's nap time.  The concept for the pumpkin came from the boys.  They both drew the shapes they wanted on their pumpkins.  Zachary wanted me to "better" his shapes while Nicolas asked me to keep his the way he drew it.  Here is the outcome...

 Then it was time to hit the road and go trick or treating.  We came back with so many candies and didn't even have to go to many houses to get it.  Charlie was so excited and very much an active participant.  A huge difference compared to last year!  All in all a very successful day!

 

The last one is a picture of Mom-I and Pop-I's pumpking.  They chose a wrinkly old one and dressed it up as a "senior delinquent".  They thought it was appropriate and representative!

Visit with the girls

Auntie Carolyn, Lauryn, Katie and Sabrina came over for a visit and some lunch today.  The boys play so well with them and have a blast!  After a little lunch they decided to do some coloring...

Fall time fun in the leaves

Our whole family had a wonderful afternoon of playing around in the leaves.  We raked them, jumped in them, threw them around and then we bagged them.  The weather was perfect and it was just an all around great day.  It's days like these that make being a family fun.  We decided it was time to take advantage of the good weather before the rain from hurricane Sandy arrives tomorrow...

Baking homemade chocolate chip cookies!

Zachary and Nicolas decided that they wanted to bake some more homemade chocolate chip cookies.  This is our second attempt and they loved it just as much this time around.  They help me read the ingredients and measure them out.  They also helped me to mix it all together and put it on the baking sheet.  They very impatiently waited while they cooked and were best at devouring the cookies!

Here are some cute pics of the event...

Golfing on the front lawn

The boys love to play golf.  Charlie is also getting in on the action.  We took advantage of the lack of rain this afternoon to play a little golf on the front lawn...

Charlie's 15 month check-up... a little late

I took Charlie in to see his pediatrician this morning.  We got there early and were in and out in less than 30 minutes.  He cried almost the entire visit but is doing great.  He is 75th percentile for his weight (about 28 pounds, I think) and is 34" tall.  He said that everything else looks great!

His throat was red which was not all that surprising since he's had a cold.  He was pretty sure it was croup (which I validated since he was coughing like a seal on Sunday night).  He told me to keep a humidifier on in his room, which I was already doing.  He wrote me a prescription for some antibiotics in case he spikes a fever.

I also have a referral for him to see an allergist.  Hopefully peanuts is the only thing he's allergic to...