Swimming Lessons Take 3

We just finished our third year of swimming lessons with Sam and Anna.  They loved it as much if not more than they have in previous years.  Every week they looked forward to going to swimming lessons and cheered when I told them it was swimming lesson day.  They are still a little resistant to floating flat on their backs, but loved using the pool tools like kick boards, pool noodles, and of course, the rubber ducks to practicing reaching and scooping water with their hands.  Anna's favorite part was "monkey on the wall" when we held onto the side of the pool and raced back and forth along the side of the wall trying to get each other.  Sam's favorite part was "the hokey pokey" that we did at the end of every night.

 Back floating

 

  Front floating

So much fun wrapped up in one little yellow duck 

Jumping in  

(As much fun as parent/child swimming lessons are, I am looking forward to the day when I can sit on the bleachers and watch my children having swimming lessons without having to be in the pool with them) 

 Ready for bed after a night of swimming in the pool

Mama Loves Puddle Jumpers

We've only used our puddle jumper lifejackets a few times and I'm already sold.  I really wanted to get them last summer for Sam and Anna after reading lots of great things about them, but my little peanuts were nowhere near the bottom end of the weight range.  This summer, Anna still doesn't meet the weight range of 30-50 lbs (and Sam may not either, but I haven't weighed him recently), but she's close so I got a pair of puddle jumpers for my duo anyway (always used under close supervision, of course).


Sam and Anna have regular life jackets (from last summer) that we still use on boat rides, but for swimming the puddle jumpers are much better by far.  With the other ones we have, Sam and Anna seem so restricted in them.  They seem so much more comfortable in the puddle jumpers even when they aren't in the water yet.  After one trip using the puddle jumpers, I can picture taking Sam and Anna to a waterpark now, even though they can't swim yet.

If you are not familiar with these life jackets, they are sort of a cross between a traditional life jacket and water wings.  They are sturdy, comfortable, and cute. I like that the Puddle Jumper is short in the front and open in the back (except for the strap and buckle) and therefore much less restricting than a full life vest, yet is still categorized as a Type V US Coast Guard Approved Life Jacket with Type III performance (which means that it must be buckled in the back and is good for general boating in calm, inland waters, or where there is a good chance for fast rescue).  You can get them just about anywhere lifejackets are sold from Target to Amazon (where I bought ours).

At the Cabin

We're back from our 2012 trip to my in-law's cabin in northern Minnesota!  Our 780 mile roadtrip went far easier than I expected it to go, which is a relief.  Our ipad proved itself as a great investment a million times over, and although I am extremely tired of hearing the Curious George theme song (Curious George is the new Elmo in our home these days), the $2.99 I spent on the Curious George and the Cows episode was some of the best money I've ever spent to get us through the last legs of our driving days.


Sam and Anna slept pretty well, especially considering we were pretty consistently delaying naps or bedtime due to travel and off our usual routine.  We still do not have car nappers, which stinks, but atleast we've got the traveling awake thing down. They slept until 8 am most mornings, and took a typical nap length so I was thankful for that!  I hope we are lucky with similar results when we go camping in a few weeks!

Last year the big hit with our 1 1/2 year old was the boat rides. Boat rides continued to be a big hit this year... even more so when they got a turn to help drive the pontoon. Anna (Miss Independent) didn't like anyone to have their hands on the steering wheel (adults included) when it was her turn and she would try to push them off. Sam was a wheel turn-er- we may or may not have gone in circles for a while during one of his turns. We checked out loons, blue herons, and even a beaver lodge on the lake.

This was last year's version of the above photo:

This year they still loved the boats but the hugest hit was swimming in the lake.  The lake was significantly high so the docks were actually partly under water.  The drawback to that was that the sandy beach was underwater, so Sam and Anna were not able to play in it.  The advantage to the high water meant that the end of the dock was the perfect toddler swimming area until they got more comfortable!  In no time, Sam and Anna were jumping off the end of the dock into waiting arms.  I am so glad that they meet the weight range for Puddle Jumpers this year too!  (Well, Anna almost does.)  Puddle Jumpers are fabulous for swimming compared to typical life jackets. 

 Swimming... on the dock

Swimming off the end of the dock

Both Sam and Anna became total water kids this year.  Not only were they jumping off the dock, but they discovered how to kick and move their arms to move.  They put their heads back into the water, and even swam out to the floating swimming dock (with adults close by).  I wish we could have stayed a week longer just to let them swim in the lake every day for seven more days. 

We even took them on a tube ride pulled by a jet ski.  Anna the daredevil grinned the whole time, and I'm sure she would have thought it was great to go by herself.  Sam was a little more unsure, but had fun going a little slower with the jet ski.

 Chillin' with the girl cousins on the big tube

While at the cabin, we took Sam and Anna fishing for the first time and both "caught" their first fish (with assistance).  They liked touching the fish and watching them bite the hooks under water.  We had a nice sunfish meal for dinner with the fish they caught!

 Sam's first fish

Anna's first fish

We went into town one morning and discovered a new playground.

Then stopped for a special ice cream treat.

Stopping for a small break by Lake Mille Lacs.

Our yearly picture in front of the big walleye on the way home.

last year in front of the big fish

Swimming Lessons Take 2

Last November/December, we enrolled Sam and Anna in their first swimming lessons at 8-9 months old.  They loved it.  We were a little spoiled because Sam and Anna were the only kids in the 6 month-3 year old group, and we had two instructors between the two children.  We decided to sign up for swimming lessons again this fall to keep them familiar with water and I guess extend summer a little longer! 

This time, there are a bunch of kids in our parent and child aquatics group, and Sam and Anna are the youngest.  Most of the other kids are probably 2 1/2 years old-3 years old.  Sam and Anna still have fun,  but they are a little more tentative than they were at 8 months old.  Neither one likes to float on their back, but they both enjoy floating on their stomachs.  Anna is our little water baby this time, and grins or giggles throughout most of our time in the pool.  Their favorite part is "jumping" into the pool from the outside ledge, although going up and down out of the water while we sing The Wheels On The Bus is also a bit hit.

We'll probably sign up for the parent and child aquatics class once  a year until they are old enough to take swimming lessons without a parent, just to keep them familiar and comfortable in the water during the non-summer months!

 Practicing kicks

  Reaching for the floating ducks

Floating on pool noodles

Sam and Anna's First Vacation

Whew!  What a whirlwind weekend!  Sam and Anna's first vacation was a success.  They had a great time while at my MIL's cabin, and slept fairly well, which combined made the challenging drive more tolerable.

Sam and Anna overall did great.  Although they were awake for each of the 4 3+ hour drives we made (we broke it up knowing it was highly unlikely they'd nap in the car), it could have been much worse.  When left our home to embark on our trip, we thought we were in for trouble when 1 minute into the drive, Anna starting saying "All done! All done!" On the return journey, we didn't even make it out of the driveway before the "All done! All done!" began.  But we survived.  The worst leg was understandably the last 3 1/2 hours before we got home.  I was tired, longing for my own bed and needing a break from entertaining two confined toddlers.  Sam and Anna were tired, probably longing for their own cribs, and needing a break from sitting immobile in the same spot with the same toys.  My patience was depleted and theirs was too.  But we DID get home with minimal tears all around!

Sleep went pretty well.  The only problem was on the second night when Sam woke at midnight and was up for 2 hours because he wasn't used to me sleeping in the same room with him.  He could not settle back down.  They managed to sleep in every morning (as late at 8 am) without a later bedtime even though my MIL was up at 6 am, because we slept in a separate small building just big enough for us and two portable cribs.  They napped almost as good as they do at home- which I'm attributing to all the activity and fresh air they got when they were awake (plus the separate small building).  On Saturday, they needed two naps from all the excitement of having all the extended relatives there.  My two 15 month olds took better naps than the 3 and 4 month old that were there too.  Since they were sleeping apart from the main cabin, the smartest thing we did was bring along our monitor.  That way, I could relax or have fun on the dock or the beach and still hear if they were fast asleep or not.

By far, Sam's favorite part of our trip were all the boats.  Every time we'd take him for a boat ride, he'd do the toddler happy dance (bouncing up and down by bending his knees saying "Oh, oh, oh!") Then he'd make the sign for boat and say "Bo! Bo! Bo!"  If we passed a boat on the lake, he'd start saying and signing it all over again.  While driving home he kept looking out the window asking for the boats again.  Anna liked the boat rides too, especially watching the water or loons on the lake.

Enjoying the pontoon ride

"Bo! Bo!"

Helping drive the "bo"

 Anna was our water baby (in small doses). While she hated the feeling of sand on her feet, she had a great time swimming out with me in deeper water. She especially liked when I twirled her around in a circle. Not surprisingly, she had a major temper tantrum when we tried to take her out of the lake. If we walked with her on the dock, she tried to go in the water every time. Sam was okay with the water if it wasn't too deep. If he could sit in a couple inches of water, he was just fine, even in the sand. Once we put two chairs in the water for them to sit on, everyone was happy as a clam.

Despite their worried faces, they did have fun!

Anna's favorite part

Water chairs

Posing in front of the giant walleye on the return trip home!