Swimming Adventures at the Hotel Pool

A highlight of our Chicago trip included swimming in the hotel pool. The girls took advantage of this amenity and swam 4 times over the course of the weekend- Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday night, and Sunday morning.

Aunt Marge came to join in the fun Saturday evening.

 Happy waves before entering the chilly water.

 Madison was the only brave one to get all the way in (Lillian changed her mind and came back for her goggles).

 With goggles on, Lillian took the plunge and jumped into the pool.

 Swimming laps

 The girls were both excited to practice diving. Lillian LOVED it!
(Both girls dive from a seated or crouched position, at least for the moment :)

 Not the best form but Madi has the general concept. She just kept trying!

 Look Madi- like this! (As Nana dove into the pool)

 Madi and Nana racing back stroke the length of the pool

 They were neck and neck... Madi won by a hand :)

 After the race, it was back to the shallow end to practice water handstands.
Look out summer Olympics- here is the next synchronized swimming team- Nana, Madi and Aunt Marge

 Cooper was a bit fussy when we first came down to the pool (I think he was sad to not be in the water) but he gradually dozed off while watching his sisters play and swim.

 Lillian wanted to do a water handstand too.

 Watching sissy practice- look how straight her legs have gotten.

 Where's Lillian? Yup, she's the big splash! She loves jumping into the pool.

 Cooper snoozes on.

 Lillian loved playing with Nana in the water. Just like Madison at this age, Lillian LOVES playing Sound of Music in the pool.
(They pretend to be the characters of the musical and sing around the pool)

 "Me a name I call myself"

 "Tea a drink with jam and bread"

 "So long farewell..."

 More handstands for Madi... More show tunes for Nana and Lillian

 The grand finale!

I loved snuggling Cooper and watching the fun in the pool. The girls had a great time- and they slept really well that night.

Sorting out Omi

This weekend we made the 3.5 hour drive to Chicago to help Omi and Opi as they prepare to move (they are hoping to move to an 5th floor condo with elevator access).

Our goal was to sort/organize/clean every room, closet, drawer and cabinet. And we did just that.

We arrived at our hotel Friday evening and after a short swim in the pool, went to bed early to be ready for Saturday.

After another adventure in the pool, we returned to our room to get ready for the day.
Madison and Cooper enjoyed cereal and cartoons together while the rest of us showered and dressed.
(Well Madi enjoyed the cereal and Cooper just watched the cartoons)

Everyone had a job to do that day:
Opi was in charge of holding Cooper while we worked. They both did great :)

 

Madison was in charge of checking the gazillions of pens we found to see if they worked (she also enjoyed using the pens to color and draw).

 Lillian sorted Lollipops (and taste tested a few too)

 Omi moved from chair to chair and designated which items were to keep, to sell, to donate or to throw out. She was awesome!
Nana and I boxed, bagged, disposed and organized the sorted items.

At the end of the day, we had 10 bags to Goodwill, 6 boxes for the church rummage sale, 3/4 of the dumpster filled and the trunk of the Rav4 with stuff for home.

Reward Cuddles for Omi after a job well done.

 Then it was back to the hotel.
We enjoyed watching Bugs Life together while we waited for our pizza to be delivered.

 Aunt Marge joined us for pizza and a swim in the pool.

 Then showers and bedtime.
Cooper was fascinated with the TV. He loved to lean toward the screen.

A very productive weekend!

Lillian's Swim Lesson

Our little fish! She is really starting to make progress.

Cooper Frowns

Play Mat Fun

Cooper is just starting to enjoy his jungle play mat (he still hates belly time :)

It won't be long and I am sure this will be a favorite place to play.

Artist Lillian

While making dinner, I look outside and this is what I saw...

Lillian colored like this for over 30 minutes. She loves drawing with her chalk.

Madi's First Swim Meet

Saturday morning (bright and early) we headed to the local pool to watch Madi's first swim meet.
She has joined a local recreational swim team through the Indy Parks and loves it.

Practice is every Friday for an hour and half with a meet the second Saturday of each month.

At this meet, Madison swam in 5 events:
Freestyle
Back Stroke
Butterfly
Relay- Back stroke
Relay- Freestyle

She did an awesome job and is looking forward to the next meet in November.

Faces of Cooper

... captured by Daddy.

Priceless.

Family Movie Night

A good friend's blog is entitled "Choosing Joy" and has been quite the encouragement as I tackle the challenges of my new role as a mother of 3. Each day I am seeking the joy even in the most challenging moments.

I am learning to be flexible and to go with the flow. I am learning to put aside the Mommy agenda and sometimes just go with the example and suggestions of my children and ultimately to view life with a child like faith.

Tonight was one of those nights. My Mommy To Do's was a page long but at the suggestion of Madison to have a family movie night, I followed their enthusiasim and joined them in the living room.
The film of choice: Marmaduke

Here was the result:

Snuggling with their Mommy blankets in their red chairs- all cuddled up.

 Even Cooper was wide awake for the festivities

 Movie night would not be complete without popcorn and smarties

 Cuddling during the scary parts

 Dancing to the credits

Tonight was the best night.
No tears or tantrums. No time outs or hurt feelings
Just giggles, smiles and happy memories.

I am blessed.

Cooper Man and His 1st tie

I love my little man!

Bath Buddy

Unhappy Boy

 When Cooper is Mad... he is really mad

Time with Daddy

Words cannot describe this father son relationship...

 "Hands Down" they are my two favorite guys

Here's your "standing" ovation

Beary Special Boy

Happy 2 months Cooper! We are BEARY blessed to call you our son.

Sparkle of 5- Our family