My Little Swimmers

Last week, Nolan and Carter participated in their first swim lessons!  Both of the boys did great.  I went along for the pictures and video footage, while Bill went in the pool with the boys.  Carter went first, and Nolan patiently waited his turn in the viewing room.  The pool was heated and salt water, so Carter had no objections to getting wet.

Bill said Carter was a little hesitant at first, but opened up once the group started to move around and sing songs.  Carter enjoyed splashing in the water and chasing after the balls in the pool.  Bill said the lessons were really neat and he has to practice up on his songs.  Next time I will take Carter, so I can have some fun too.

 Nolan patiently waiting for his lesson to start.

My little swimmer!

30 minutes seemed like forever, but it was finally Nolan's turn!  Nolan knew what to expect since he watched Carter.   Bill said at first Nolan kept saying, "daddy hold me," but once the other kiddos started flapping and kicking Nolan let go of Bill's neck and had a blast.  It was so fun watching Nolan have a good time.  This is the first real group we have joined with other kids Nolan's age. 

 Love these two!

The boys worked up an appetite for ice cream from all of the swimming.  Of course Nolan asked for chocolate ice cream with M&M's.  Baby Carter fell asleep on the way home. Both boys slept all night long!

Splashin' Sunday

All summer I've wanted to take the boys to the splash pad, but we've either been too busy or it's been too hot.  Today was the perfect day to go.  The Kellers came along too!  Everyone packed a lunch and we headed out.  The kids had a lot of fun and it was relaxing for the adults to a degree.

Nolan had a lot of fun playing in the water and Carter did good too.  I think the water was too chilly for Carter, but daddy would take him for a quick trip into the water to cool off.  Carter mostly hung out in his walker like a big boy, while Nolan and daddy ran all over the place.

 Bill and Nolan waiting for the big bucket of water to dump on their heads!

After a few hours of play time, the splash pad started to become the hot spot with tons of other kids.  We decided to load the kiddos up and head home.  The boys were exhausted from all the play time.  Nolan took a 3 hour nap!!

Our "New" Swing Set

For the past month, I have been researching different swing sets and deciding which one is best for our boys.  Rainbow seems to be the top rated wooden swing set, but is very pricey!  Since I found the brand, I looked on Craigslist to see if anyone was selling their Rainbow.  After a couple of weeks of looking online, I found one!!  It was an hour away in Missouri, but it was a great price.

I showed Bill the listing, contacted the seller, and a few hours later we were on the road headed to look at the swing set.  Bill took the trailer because he didn't want to make an extra trip back in case we wanted to buy it.  When we got to the house, the swing set was in worn condition.  The swing set is 8 years old and was bought brand new at the Rainbow store in Missouri.  Bill and I decided with a little elbow grease the set would be perfect for our boys!  Thank goodness Bill brought the trailer.

My husband truly impressed me last Sunday.  Gotta love my handy man because the person we bought the set off of was of no help what so ever!  Bill took the extremities off of the tower himself and then proceeded to carry the entire tower from the backyard, down a hill, onto the trailer!  I thought Bill was going to pass out his face was so red, but he managed and impressed me as well.  The things we do for our kids!!

The trailer was loaded up and we ventured onto the road for an hour journey back home.  I was nervous because the trailer was loaded down, but we made it home around 11:45pm on Sunday night safe and sound.  Of course, Nolan was awake the entire trip talking nonstop about his new swing set.

On Monday, Papa brought his power washer to the house to clean the swing set up.  Aunt KK and Papa cleaned the set, placed the swing set where I wanted it, and reattached all of the extremities so Bill and I could start staining the set as soon as we were available.  Nolan had fun playing in the water with Papa and KK, while Nana hung out with Carter.

A few more pictures of us working on the swing set throughout the week.  Bill and I both had July 4th off, so we were able to accomplish quite a bit and Donna watched the boys on July 5th while I worked on the swing set.

One week, 2 gallons of stain, a can of yellow, green, and red spray paint, a few boards, 26 washers, 5 bolts, a new telescope, 15 mosquito bites, and one bad sun burn later the swing set is complete!!  The swing set looks like new and Nolan really enjoys playing on it.  Carter loves swinging as well.  A lot of hours were put into the swing set, but I know the boys will enjoy playing on it for many years to come.

 Finished product

 Nolan calls this "the big swing"

 Nolan even gave me kisses for all of the hard work I put into his swing set.

Happy playing loves!

Carter's 9 Month Well Visit

Today Carter had his 9 month well visit with Dr. Hulsen.  Carter was weighed, measured, and received his vaccine.  Carter weighed in at 21 pounds and 4 ounces, which places him in the 65th percentile for weight and measured 28 inches long, which places him in the 45th percentile for height.  Carter only received one shot today, so we had a good visit.  Dr. Hulsen said it is fine that Carter wants to only eat table food as along as it is smaller than the size of a pea when the food is not dissolvable.  Carter was happy with this news!!

Carter is such a busy little guy!!  He enjoys looking at himself in the mirror and clapping his hands.  Carter can now sit himself up in a sitting position.  He will also stand while holding onto something, and is even attempting to pull himself up on things.  Carter still isn't a fan of baby food, so we decided to try finger foods.  JACK POT!  Carter loves being a big boy and feeding himself.  Carter mostly receives puffs, cheerios, and other soft foods, but he sure does enjoy chomping on them.

It was a beautiful day on Saturday, so I had Bill help me take some outside pictures of Carter.  I love all those rolls!