Summertime

The beginning of summer usually marks the start of a few slower, lazier months.  Since Cate and Timmy weren't in school in the spring, and summer weather has been here for quite awhile, I found myself feeling like there was no great change of pace.

We've been swimming for awhile and Cate has emerged as a little water lover.  She is definitely still tentative but has come such a long way in the last six weeks of swimming lessons.

 Next week we will change things up a bit though and start a month of survival swimming lessons.  I am really nervous about how they will take a much more intense swim class, but I am excited to see the end result and to feel like they are a little bit more confident around the pool.

Beyond swimming, Cate and Timmy are each taking a class this summer.  Cate is taking dance and Timmy is doing soccer with Tim.

They both love their classes and Cate likes to practice her new moves at home for us.

In the car this morning, Timmy announced, "Daddy is so cool.  He plays soccer and basketball."

 Although I would like for our days to have a little bit more structure and action, I know that next summer will probably feel busy with C&T both able to go to camp at their preschool in addition to swimming and whatever other classes they are interested in by then.  For now we are trying to get ready for Cate's fourth birthday and our first trip back to Chicago in July.  We can't wait!

A World of Imagination

Cate is all about pretending these days.  She has always had a healthy imagination, what with her three imaginary friends (Elizabeth, Bufana and Lizdee) and all, but lately she has kicked it into high gear.  

Timmy is usually a good sport about all of the pretend tea parties, sleepovers, birthday parties and pretend babysitter games.  He calls up his "friend" Rick and they join the game for awhile before heading off to play cars.

Mimi came for almost a week while Tim was working in Las Vegas right before Mother's Day.  She is great at pretend games and outdid herself this time with a pretend Toy Story guys game that she then had to play all. week. long.

At the moment, Cate wants to be a mommy when she grows up because mommies get to workout and twirl in the kitchen while they cook.  I think she might be mistaking wearing workout clothes with actually working out.  That's ok, it's just pretend.

There are plenty of days when I am tired of playing pretend princesses or parties, but I try to remember that she is already almost four and her pretending days will suddenly come to an end, so I should soak up all of the funny things that she says.  Like when she is the mommy and I am the babysitter and she always leaves me a fancy dress for her baby to wear.  Just in case we go to a wedding between dinner and bedtime.  The girl is always prepared for a party.

Little Fish

The theme of the past few weeks has been swimming, swimming, swimming.  Cate and Timmy have been going to swim lessons four days a week in the late afternoon.  For two kids who did NOT want to get in the baby pool last summer, they have done great.

There was a little bit of drama from our resident drama llama on the first day, but she loved her teacher and did much better than I thought she would.  

We have also been using our own "hot tub" method to work on things with them.  Our pool is still just a little bit cold (and in need of cosmetic work), so we heat just the hot tub a little bit and they are happy to float around in there for quite awhile.

I usually get to sit and chat with a friend I met at my moms group.  We never really look at each other because we are both watching our kids to make sure their heads are above water, but it's nice to see someone I know a little bit.

Tim has been trying to make it to as many lessons as possible too.  It's good practice for him because Cate and Timmy are signed up for a survival swimming course in June/July.  I do not intend to be there much.  I can't handle it, so we agreed, when I signed them up, that he would make it a priority to take them.  Yikes.

It's a little bit crazy when we get home from swimming around 5:15 because C&T always want to ride their bikes, we need to eat dinner, have a bath and walk the dog, but the bonus is that swimming is just so tiring and they are usually tucked in bed right on time.

The Heat is On

The weather in Phoenix has been beautiful just about every day since we've been here.  I think that I will really like the Winter and early Spring here.  We had a taste of Summer this past week and weekend, and I'm not sure that we will be friends.  105 degrees in April is new for us.

So, we are getting ready.  I stocked up on all kinds of sunscreen, bought the kids an extra swimsuit or two and some extra sunglasses because those always seem to be missing.  Especially Timmy's.

Nana and Uncle Rusty were here last week and we went to check out the Splash pad at our Rec Center.  We went last June when we were here for a visit.  It was a nightmare.  It was so so hot and Cate and Timmy wouldn't get near the water.  They both just hung all over me.

This year, they did much better.  It wasn't crowded, which helped and Uncle Rusty got in on the water spraying action.

Cate was pretty dramatic, but she did get wet and didn't want to leave.

In the shot above, she was surprised by a jet of water that suddenly turned on.  She kept yelling, "Mommy, please!  Please, Mommy!" But she kept going back for more.

 This afternoon, we went in our pool for awhile before dinner.  I got  both kids a tube to practice floating in.  They were unsure at first, but both were jumping off of the step and gliding into the water in their tubes after a little while.  This is big progress for kids who have not had much exposure to water.  We ate a really late dinner because they were having so much fun and didn't want to get out.

Tomorrow is a big day.  Our first swimming lessons.  They are in the same class and it should be a pretty mild introduction to the water.  I will still be surprised if there is no drama from Cate, but we'll see.  At the very least, a 4:30 swim class that meets every day for two weeks should ensure an early bedtime for everyone!

Full Circle

I love Easter. Springtime, new life, hope and new beginnings. I love Easter dinner and Easter candy and coloring eggs and egg hunts and, of course, eating a few pieces of chocolate before breakfast too.

Last Easter marked the beginning of our very long journey to Phoenix. The Monday after Easter, Tim left for his first two week stint in Phoenix while we stayed in Chicago. If I had known then that it would take the better part of a year to get all of us here, I would not have been happy.

This year, we enjoyed our long awaited visit from Mimi, Pop and Auntie Jenn. It was a different kind of Easter for us. One that included swimming in our pool and lying around in the sun while the kids took naps.

It was so nice to have them here. To have people who really know us and who really love our kids.

It was a refreshing break from our anonymity and identity here. We are the people from Chicago who don't know how to deal with their pool (I'm pretty sure we were the only ones swimming this weekend) or their desert landscaped yard. We are the people who are always asking questions (to neighbors, the woman in the checkout lane, the guy at Starbucks, the mail lady...), and who have very few answers.

But this weekend, with Mimi, Pop and Jenn, we got to take a deep breath and do what we know. We played cars and trucks.
We read new Pinkalicious books.
We shopped and ate Mexican food and just hung out and let Cate and Timmy entertain us.

My mom helped me to FINALLY get my china put away. And I don't mean finally in the sense of after the move. I mean finally in the sense that my beloved wedding china has never been out of the box. We had nowhere to put it in our old house, so it all stayed in the original packaging. For nine years. So we got it out, washed it, admired it, and put it all away.

Everyone got cleaned up for Church on Saturday afternoon. It seemed like a good time to go with the kids and it worked well with our lying around and relaxing schedule.
When I picked Timmy up from his class, the teacher told me that he had been a "gentleman" the whole time and was sharing so nicely. So nice to hear since he hasn't always been displaying his most gentlemanly side since we've been here.

I don't seem to have any pictures with their Easter baskets, but it was fun to watch them hunt around together for their Easter morning surprises. When Cate spotted her basket, she exclaimed, "The Easter Bunny brought just what I wanted!" A Sleeping Beauty Barbie. So, of course, Timmy followed suit when he found his new Mater and Mc Queen cars to replace the ones he lost.

We had a great weekend and it was hard to see them leave this morning. All of the anticipation of the visit and it went by so quickly. I hope that we are able to learn to adjust to short visits and having to say good-bye at the end. For now we will look forward to Nana and Rusty's visit next week and start planning our first trip back to Chicago.

Little by Little

We have been plugging along, continuing to establish a new routine.

For the most part, we don't get much done in the house and instead we go to the playground,

or to the Rec center to workout (me), paint (mostly Cate), to play basketball (mostly Timmy), and to lay on a mat after working out under the guise of stretching but really checking Facebook and reading blogs (all me).

In the category of small victories, our pool should be open this Easter weekend for our visit from Mimi, Pop and Jenn,
and our new kitchen table arrived this weekend. Out with the tiny card table, in with the huge farmhouse table and bench. (Please ignore the ridiculously empty mantle and shelves in the family room.)

We still need chairs for the other side of the table, but at least the card table is out.

Now it's on to preparing for Easter and (hopefully) hanging out by the pool! That will be an Easter first for us!