Go 'Pokes!

Our good friend, Lauren, sent Kate the cutest outfit yesterday. The Schatzels are from Oklahoma and are OSU alumni & fans. After opening our surprise package that arrived in the mail, Kate immediately tried on her new outfit and got into character. Uh oh, looks like she may follow in Mommy's footprints. =) Thanks, Lo!

Cuddle bugs...

As part of our normal nightly routine, Kate gets to watch a little of her favorite movie, The Little Mermaid, in her room* while I give Luke his bottle and put him down. Tonight I laid Luke on her bed for a couple of minutes while I searched for a missing paci. When I left the room Kate was at the other end of the bed but this is what I came back to...

I just love these sweet little moments.

*Disclaimer: I am not a supporter of TV's in children's bedrooms. The TV in Kate's room is only used at bedtime and only plays videos- no regular TV channels. ;)

Swimming lessons...

Last week Kate & Luke started swim lessons. We go once a week for one-on-one, 15 minute lessons. Kate LOVES it, is totally fearless, and (according to her instructor, Scott) is learning really fast. The swim school teaches a method of swimming that involves rolling over into a back float to take breaths. Kate is doing really well since she no longer struggles to pick her head up, take a breath, and keep swimming. With Luke, Scott is working on getting him comfortable with floating on his back. They do this with babies as young as 2 months old! It's a survival skill that can help them if they were to fall into water- they immediately turn over and float until help arrives. We watched them do a "survival test" with a little guy no older than 2-years-old. They threw him into the pool with all his clothes & shoes on and he rolled over and waited for the instructor to come and get him! It was amazing. I'm having a hard time picturing Luke getting to that point since he screams almost the entire time but Scott is very patient and calm with him so I have no doubt he'll soon be fine. He doesn't mind putting his face in the water but fights like crazy when they make him float. Here some pictures from their first lesson.

Check out these success stories from the swim school:

20 month old Taylor loved the water but couldn't swim, a scary combination. She fought her lessons, but eventually learned to appreciate her ability to back float, especially when she had to use it at the River. Taylor followed her dad out into the water, lost her footing…fell in and saved herself. When her father turned around, he found her floating confidently on her back and he simply picked her up with praise and relief.


3 year old Jamie was riding her tricycle around the swimming pool, caught her wheel on the edge, fell in, back floated, rolled back over, swam to the wall, climbed out and was only upset because her precious tricycle had sunk to the bottom.


Nancy was missing. Mom ran out to the pool and discovered her toddler back floating, fully clothed.


After a panicky search for 11 month old Chad, he was found peacefully back-floating in the family's fenced pool. He had begun lessons at the age of 6 months.


Noah, age 2, was found back-floating underneath his babysitter's spa cover…safe because he learned the "survival turn and back-float".


“Our 18 month old rolled over into a safe back-float position after stumbling in the water at the bay…so glad he learned to swim during the spring so he could safely enjoy summer swimming.” - Castro family


The full bathtub at the Munz home wouldn't drain and was awaiting the assistance of a plumber. In the meantime, little 24 month old Westie was discovered missing and then found, back-floating the tub, hands under his head, just as he had been taught.

A night with no kids!!

That's right, folks, John & I went away without the kids! Just the two of us! For a whole night! 32 kid-free hours! Woo hoo! Now don't get me wrong, of course, I LOVE my children and leaving them, even for just one night, felt really weird. But...can I just tell you how nice it was to have peaceful meals, to lay by the pool for a total of 7 hours and read a book, to go to bed and not have to get up until I was good and ready, to have several uninterrupted conversations with my husband. Awwwww...it was wonderful! Just a note: this it the first time John & I have gone away alone since Kate was born- yes, over 3 years- so when I mentioned that all I wanted for my birthday (my last twentysomething birthday :( ) was a hotel stay, John was all for it.

Not wanting to waste a minute, we started our mini-vacation yesterday morning at 8:30 am. Our first stop was an old family favorite, Ricky's Restaurant, for breakfast- by far the best french toast you will ever experience. We were able to get an early check-in at our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Spa & Marina, and wasted no time getting settled in and down to the pool.

The hotel was very nice and our view was great. We even watched the fireworks show put on by Sea World (right across the bay) from our bed.

That evening we headed to the Gaslamp District, aka downtown S.D., for sushi and a movie. It was a nice date night and even nicer was not being on any kind of timeline. We weren't in a hurry to relieve a babysitter or to go to bed at a reasonable hour knowing we'd have to be up early with the kids. Ahhh, freedom. I did not appreciate it enough before the babes. Although, at the same time, every time I saw a little one Kate or Luke's age I would say, "Oh, Johnny, don't you miss the kids?" We decided that, while it was nice & necessary to have time alone together, we feel a little empty-handed without our little munchkins. But that did not stop us from enjoying breakfast in bed this morning and more pool time and lunch this afternoon before heading back to reality.

We aren't real big on spending money on trips (obviously, since we haven't done this in over 3 years) but during this trip we decided you can't put a price on reconnecting with your spouse and being reminded that your not just a parent. So for that, it was well worth a little indulgence and we highly recommend it. =)

Haircut time...

Kate joined me yesterday for my hair appointment and got her first little trim. She did such a good job but after we got home I decide she could use some real layers to help out the curl. So tonight Auntie Amanda gave Kate a "real haircut". It's cute and so much easier to style- I have hard time with all those curls sometimes. =)

Movie night...

Last night Kate and I had some mother-daughter bonding time and stayed up late to watch a movie. After Luke was in bed, we popped some popcorn and broke out one of my all-time favorites, Annie. Annie was the first movie I ever saw in the theater back in 1981 with my dad and the inspiration for my alternate personality when I was Kate's age. It was so fun to watch it again after so long and to see Kate enjoy it the way I did all those years ago (over and over and over). I still think it's a great movie and have a whole new appreciation for it as an adult- those are some talented little orphans! =)

What is a classic or favorite that you share or will share with your kids?