Swim Lessons - Part II

After The Lime's first session of swim lessons being so successful, we knew we wanted to sign him up for another one before school started.

The Lime got an ear infection, and my sister moved out of the area, between the first set of lessons and when we were able to start back up again. That meant The Lime wouldn't be able to do lessons with my niece again. He was bummed but that also meant we were able to go to a pool a little closer to home.

On his first day, The Lime was a little stunned by his teachers (both named Dylan). Their voices were much louder than his previous teacher, and one of them even reminded me of a drill sergeant. They had us fill out a survey on the last day of lessons and asked for any suggestions. I suggested Dylan #1 relax a little bit. They were nice guys, though, and were patient and kind with The Lime and that's really all that matters in the end.

The Lime had fun and learned some new things, but I think he was a bit more hesitant this time around. They tried to teach them how to swim (believe it or not!) a few yards but the coordination between your legs/arms/poking your head up for air seemed a bit much for The Lime to take in. He wasn't afraid to try it but I think it overwhelmed him.

Floating on the other hand, improved drastically this session. He wanted nothing to do with floating prior to this, whether it was LaVor or I helping him, or his previous teacher. Something clicked the second time and he was more than willing to float on his back (it's always been one of my favorite things, too!).

Doodlebug had a hard time sitting in his stroller for the half hour each day. He wanted so desperately to get in the pool and swim with everyone else. Most of the time, if he wasn't eating a snack, he was doing this. Maybe next year I'll have to do a Mommy & Me class.

On The Lime's last day, they did a short lesson and then had a little fun, which included the Hokey Pokey.  Then they passed out report cards and each kid got to pick a candy.  Somehow, The Lime snagged his candy before getting his report.  Sticky fingers.

My timing couldn't have been any worse. 

We're definitely going to sign him up again next year and see where this little fish takes off to.

Aerospace Museum

I bought a Groupon to the Aerospace Museum a few months back, planning on using it one weekend when it was too hot to do anything outside. Time slipped by and we never used it, and the expiration date was soon approaching. I threw out the plan of using it on a Saturday and asked my mom (who happened to be in town) if she wanted to be my second adult.

We pulled into the parking lot and the place was PACKED. Turns out, there was also a job fair going on for veterans. I was worried we wouldn't be able to get in but they told us just to avoid the area where the fair was and visit every other attraction. No problem!

They had a kids area upstairs where we spent a good chunk of time. I love going to places where I don't have to worry about telling my kids "don't touch that!" the whole time we're there.

They had a little cockpit simulator that the boys kept fighting over. The different buttons, knobs, and handles could have kept them there all day.

After probably close to an hour of playing, we made our way outside to see all of the airplanes. And boy, were there a ton! Some of them were even open for us to check out.

Can you even imagine flying in something like this?!  My butt hurt sitting in those "seats" after a few minutes.  And it was BLAZING hot on the ground which means it's FREEZING cold up when it's up in the air. 

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! I'm sure it has something to do with being surrounded by aviation during my childhood, but I really had a great time, as did the boys and my mom, and I will definitely purchase another Groupon for the museum if it pops up again.

Doodlebug - Tally Mark 14

Our scale is broken so I'm guessing he's about a pound or two heavier than his last weigh-in

-Is very cautious. When he throws himself onto the ground to throw a tantrum, he does so in slow motion as to not crash his head on the hardwood floor.
-Loves to dance and loves music.
-Has been waking up around midnight and 5:00 recently. I think he's getting more teeth.
-Still only has 6.
-Loves tomatoes and sauerkraut. Daddy loves that.
-Loves babies. He knows the diaper commercials based on their music and will stop whatever he's doing to watch the babies on TV.
-"Ba" is his word for a bite, a drink of water, and any other word that he's trying to say.
-Sneaks into the bathroom if the door is left unlock. He either climbs into the bathtub or steps on The Lime's stool and tries to look in the mirror but isn't quite tall enough.
-Has started noticing light switches and wants to turn them on and off.
-Will grab my hand and lead me to whatever he needs helps with.
-Has started pointing to my nose, eyes, mouth, and ears when he nurses.
-Like playing "restaurant" with The Lime and me.
-Loves Otter Pops and tries opening the fridge to get to them, since he can't reach the freezer.
-For being a stinker as a baby, he has turned out to be a super funny and happy toddler. We'll keep him!

Showing me the dirt he picked up

Oh, What a Night

Back in December, the A's were giving away a gift a day, via Twitter, so I thought I'd jump on board. On this particular day, they were giving away two tickets to a game + an inning in the radio booth. (Have I ever mentioned my lifelong dream of being a radio DJ?) I was particularly interested in this giveaway so I answered the question and crossed my fingers I was the random entry they chose. The winners were announced at 3:00 in the afternoon so I quickly logged into my account and found a message that said, "Congrats! You've won today's #31Gifts." Wo hoo! I was so excited!

Over the last six months, I've e-mailed back and forth with the marketing coordinator for the A's, working out all the details of the night. We chose to attend last Thursday's game between the A's and Mariners (The Lime loves them because one of their colors is aquamarine) and could hardly wait for the time to come.

The second we walked into the coliseum, the smell hit me and I realized it had been too long since we attended a game. LaVor and I used to go all the time and have so many happy memories at that place, we agreed we need to start going to more.

We got to our seats and LaVor and The Lime got some food while Doodlebug and I watched everyone warm up.

In the middle of the second inning, we made our way up to the Executive Offices to be escorted to the radio booth. But first, I had to stop and chat with an Oakland police officer working the game who attended the same singles ward as me. I honestly don't think he remembered me but tried his best to play it off like he did.

When we got to the booth we first met Ken Korach. Extremely sweet and gracious. Unfortunately, this is the only picture we took of him, and it wasn't even of him! Totally kicking myself over that.

Then we asked to have our photo taken with the field in the background. Vince Cotroneo thought it'd be funny to photobomb us (and he was right...we all got a kick out of it).

Next door, in the television booth, were Glen Kuiper and Eric Chavez.

Normally, Glen Kuiper is working with Ray Fosse but the stars aligned and Ray Fosse was broadcasting on the radio with Vince that night.

It couldn't have been more perfect. Ray Fosse is a favorite in our home, and not just because he looks exactly like my dad! Seriously, every night when we watch the games, The Lime will say, "There's GrandPop!" So when we realized we were going to be able to meet him and shake his hand, we were all so excited. (LaVor said he's never shaken such a big and extremely strong hand before.)

The inning was over before we knew it and it was time to head back to our seats. Everyone was so kind and gracious and made the experience amazing.

On the way back to our seats, another employee noticed Doodlebug walking and asked if it was his first game. We told him it was and he asked us to meet him at a booth at the bottom of the ramp. When we got there, he had a photo of the coliseum that he wrote Doodlebug's name on, the date, and who the A's were playing and gave us a button that said "My First A's Game". We wish we had known about these cool things five years ago when we took The Lime to his first game!

We spent the rest of the night screaming, clapping, singing, and enjoying the win over the Mariners. We can't wait until the boys are a little bit older (and can sit for longer periods of time) so we can return to the coliseum often.

This was definitely a night that we will remember for a long time.

FFA

Remember this gift I made for my nephew a few years back?  We've been trying to find The Lime a local fire department shirt but they don't sell them like they used to.  So I wanted to put to use the same technique I used for my nephew's birthday gift and make The Lime his own fire shirt.

He went to bed Monday night and I told him he'd have a surprise when he woke up.  The stinker poked his head into my bedroom and saw the logo on my computer, so he knew it was fire related but didn't know exactly what it would be.  

He was so excited when he woke up Tuesday morning but said he already had an outfit planned for the day.  That afternoon, he got dressed in his fire gear, new t-shirt included, and was off to save the day.  I managed to snap a few pictures of him in between his forest fire call and house fire call.

We, folks, have a Future Firefighter of America on our hands.

Movie at the Mall

I'm always on the hunt for free activities we can either do during the day or at night/weekends as a family.  Our local mall puts on several different activities throughout the year including showing family movies on their Promenade.  Their first movie of the season was Big Hero 6, one of The Lime's favorites, so I knew we had to go.

After dinner, I popped two batches of popcorn, packed some Skittles and M&Ms, grabbed a few bottles of water, and we were on our way to a fun-filled evening.  Although the movie didn't start until it got dark (8:45ish), we got there shortly after 7:30 to ensure we got seats.  That left lots of time for Doodlebug to walk around and try out every available chair there was, as well as flirt with the ladies, and The Lime to dance to the music.

(Story behind the dancing video - The Lime loves to show us his awesome dance moves and, like me, can't sit still when he hears the perfect song to dance to.  This particular song is from Big Hero 6 and he just couldn't sit still.  As you can see, he danced his little heart out but the second a boy came walking by, The Lime quickly sat down like nothing happened.  I love him so much and get a good chuckle out of this every time I watch it.)

When we got there, each chair had a fan on it, which we used immediately because it was dang hot! Right before the movie started, they passed out glow necklaces for everyone to wear. Super simple but The Lime thought it was pretty cool. Doodlebug didn't really know what to think. He was beginning to wind down and needed to get ready for bed.

While we've rented Big Hero 6 several times, I've never sat down and watched the entire thing, just parts here and there. This outing allowed me to watch the whole movie and it's such a cute one! Now I understand why The Lime loves it so much.

We didn't get home until well after 10:00 and everyone slept in on Saturday morning until after 8:30. It was a fun time had by all and we look forward to doing it again soon.

Swim Lessons

We went swimming on Memorial Day for the first time this year.  It didn't take long for The Lime to get re-accustomed to the water.  LaVor suggested we sign him up for swim lessons but I had already checked, and all of the classes he'd be eligible for had waiting lists.

I was talking to my sister a couple of weeks ago and telling her the story.  She mentioned my niece was starting lessons the following week and there was one more opening in her class.  I signed The Lime up that night and we were rarin' to go.  When we told The Lime he'd be taking lessons, he freaked out!  "I'll learn when I'm older!" he screamed.  We told him he couldn't be 15 years old and be in the Guppies class.  This was something Mommy and Daddy decided and he was doing it whether he liked it or not.

Surprise, surprise!  He loved it.  He had a great, supportive teacher and had no trouble at all jumping right in (literally and figuratively) and doing what he was supposed to.  His teacher came up to me on day 3 and said, "Um...so, [The Lime] is doing really well and is doing things that I haven't even taught yet."  And to think, the little stinker wanted to postpone this opportunity!

This past Monday, he was the only one that was at class and his teacher ended up being out as well.  He ended up with a substitute who gave him a private lesson.  Later that day, he confided in me that he was flirting with the girl sub the entire time.  Silly goose.

Today was their last class and they spent 2/3 of the time going off the diving board and down the slide.  The Lime was a little nervous about the diving board, and hesitantly walked to the tip of it, but jumped right in like a champ.  He was so proud of himself and I was proud of him, too!

I can't forget to mention the babies who were good sports about tagging along. Lots of snacks were munched on to keep them happy and satisfied for the half hour we were there.

The summer is still young and he's ready to move up to the next level. We'll see where this little fish takes us.