Lazy Days of Summer

We have enjoyed almost a full week of summer here at home. I love thinking about having nothing to do. Of course, nothing, is a relative term because I am busier than I have ever been with keeping up with these two this summer!! It is very different from last summer because they were still not walking last summer. This summer... walking, running, jumping, climbing.. you name it! I have already discovered that SF can now climb into our kitchen chairs. I discovered that because while I was getting her lunch ready, she climbed into the chair, grabbed a can of lemonade and poured it all over herself, the chair, and the floor. She said "sah-wee", though. :-)

We had to get a new pool this year because hippo pool from last summer did not withstand the winter. It wouldn't have been big enough for two busy kids this summer anyway. We also got a new sprinkler, but we haven't tried it yet. I will really have to be in the mood for grass and mud-covered kids!

On Tuesday, we met some friends at our neighborhood pool. Rush seemed to enjoy the baby pool, although he did take nose-dive and ended up going under unintentionally. It scared him, but he was fine in only a few seconds. My little Fran on the other hand has a much more cautious personality. She stood on the side of the pool and just watched for a looong time. I finally made her sit in my lap and dangle her feet in the water. Then, I put her down into the water, which comes up to her thighs. She said, "I out" as soon as I put her in, so I put her back out. Then she said, "I in." So, I put her back in even though that is TOTALLY not my style. I wanted her to try to get used to it, so I thought I might take a little in/out. She was finally OK by the end and played with a few toys for about five minutes. We will try again another day.


Getting ready to go

Hanging out on the side with Camille

Ready to try anything!

Yesterday, we tried out the blow-up pool in the backyard. I love doing this because I feel like I can relax a little more. I am a little bit of a nervous wreck just in general, but the neighborhood pool makes me really jittery. In the backyard, they are right there at my feet, and I don't have anything distracting me. So, I love the neighborhood pool for friends and play dates, but I love the backyard for my sanity. If you have small children, you know how long it takes to get them ready to even head out into the sun. There are large quantities of very high SPF sunscreen to be slathered, towels to be gathered, swimsuits to slide into, and toys to be found... not to mention that my arm muscles got some excercise pumping up the pool. So, what I'm saying is.. it is kind of a pain. So, you can imagine how not excited I was when I put SF into the pool outside and she made this face... and then said, "I out."

I was considerably less friendly with my answer to her than I was at the neighborhood pool the day before. I wasn't up for a showdown at the pool in front of others, but in the semi-privacy of my backyard...it was on. She was not getting out of the pool. So, I said, "Ohhh NO! You are staying IN." It should be noted that we had already discussed the pool during snack. She was VERY interested in the pool when she saw it from the table while she ate. Rush on the other hand was enjoying the new pool. So, my "NO" led to this face...

And then this one...


Oh well, Mama had already decided who was going to end up the winner in this battle, and it wasn't the one year old. I knew if she gave it a few minutes, she would end up enjoying herself like Rush had already started to do. We ended the afternoon like this...