4th of July

We had a wonderful 4th of July--complete with a morning bike ride (Note: this was NOT the highlight of our day; we have yet to get to the point where bike riding is truly enjoyable!), an afternoon of swimming with friends and then a concert in the park. The kids hadn't napped for a couple of days (too busy with summer fun!), so they didn't make it to the fireworks--maybe next year! Everyone was (reasonably) well behaved and very happy. Wish that we could've taken more pictures-but the camera stayed firmly in the backpack while we played and chased the little ones around! We are loving summertime!

Swimming

Delaney and Elliot love taking swimming lessons together. And I love to watch them; there is just nothing better in this world than watching my children enjoy their lives. Nearly everyday Elliot asks me---'Do we having swimming lesson today?', and if I tell him no, then he starts begging for a lesson. Elliot can get pretty goofy and silly during swimming (no surprise!), so he's working on being a better listener. He's pretty comfortable in the water--sometimes a little too comfortable!

It took a couple of months, but Delaney has learned how to put her face in the water and blow bubbles. And man, can she ever blow bubbles for a long time! Literally two weeks ago, she wouldn't put her face in the water, and now, she can stay under water for a sometimes alarming amount of time. This is so typical of Delaney-once she makes up her mind to do something, she'll do it perfectly.

Delaney is super happy with her new swimming skills and literally, everytime that she comes up for air, she looks over at me with a huge smile and yells across the pool--'Mom, do you see me??? Are you sooo proud of me???' It's adorable and vulnerable and so endearing. Moments like these make me really question if this sweet child is really the same little girl whose tantrums can shake the walls of our house. I don't get it. She is absolutely the most adorable and delightful little creature but then she also is so infuriating, frustrating and demanding. So complex.

I love my little swimmers!