Sonja joins swim team

Like I mentioned, those swim technique lessons really paid off, both for James and for Sonja--I finally found a swim team for her that would fit our schedule (Sun Country) and she got evaluated for every stroke, including butterfly that she had just learned with our instructor at home, and she got accepted.

She's been swimming 4 times a week, 6 hours total per week, and she has already improved.  Her lung capacity is getting better quickly.  It's so much fun to watch her progress. And the best part is, she is always excited about every practice and never complained about being tired.  When I asked her if she'd be up for swimming an hour on Wednesdays, and then going over to her soccer practice right afterwards when her soccer season starts in September, she said she'd do it and see how it goes, if she can sustain it.  Always willing to do her best!  Attagirl!

A month after we joined the swim team, the team merged with the Gator Swim Team, which is a serious team, and last weekend we went to the first meet in town under a new name.

Sonja's very first practice at the Sun Country pool.

First meet as part of Gator Swim Club, Gainesville

Ready, set, go!

James starts kindergarten and learns how to swim!

First day at the big kids' school!

Proud kindergartner :)

Over the past month we've been getting swim lessons for James (to learn from scratch) and for Sonja (to learn proper techniques).  They have paid off big time!  James went from a chatty kid who is happy to hang out on the steps of the pool and in the hot tub where he can reach the bottom and merrily play with no interest in swimming, to a real swimmer--in just about a month.  He started pushing off and diving though water from one side of the pool to the other, as well as swimming on the back and freestyle.  I got him a nose clip so he wouldn't have to hold his nose with one hand, and that was helpful.  As soon as he realized that he could swim, he started jumping off the pool head first (!) and then also doing both front and back flips in the water!  I was shocked by his courage and determination.  Nothing stops this kids when he sets his mind on something.

Stephen is standing by himself, cruising

Stephen is standing more and more on his own, without realizing it.  He is such a cuddly little thing-perfectly chubby, and likes to cuddle with us or with pillows, blankets, large stuffed animals....
He wobbles with both arms bent at elbows at his sides.  While the trick is to give a new walker something to hold in the hands to make them think they are holding on to a stable object, this didn't work with Stephen.  He wouldn't hold anyone's hand or anything in his hands, but likes to keep his balance with just moving his arms on the sides.

His favorite destinations are couch (grabbing for remote controls to press buttons and watch the lights turn on as he points the remote towards the TV); electronics (again, pushing buttons to turn lights on and off and to see the CD tray come out); his changing table (pulls all the clothes down to the floor, and also unzips the bag that holds his socks to pull the socks out); kitchen drawer that holds plastic containers (they have to be replaced at least a couple of times a day); kitchen drawer that holds cake sprinkles and extracts (shakes the sprinkles, of course, and plays with little extract bottles); bathrooms (as much as we keep him away, he sneaks there, too, and goes for the toilet water....)

Standing without holding on....

Just chillin' on the pillow

Rummaging through his favorite kitchen drawer (where I keep cake sprinkles)

Someone got caught!

Stephen and Michael, dancing

Stephen is getting started on the comic books, keeping up with his siblings.

Disney with Grandma and Grandpa

Right after we came back from California, we repacked to spend a few days in the Disney World with Grandma and Grandpa:

James particularly enjoyed driving the race car!

Sonja in her race car in front of me and James

Stephen notices Eeyore approaching....

.... and bursts into tears and screams, moving away as far as he could!

 

 

 

 

James won't have it!  These strange, large creatures terrify him!

Big bear, CA

We are here in Big Bear with deko for a couple of weeks!
We're spending time watching soccer world cup in our cute log cabin, walking to the end of our street and into mountain trails after breakfast, and, at the end of the day,  driving down to the lake for a walk with deko where it's flat and easy for him walk and where the kids can enjoy the beach.
It's great to get away from FL heat and humidity, enjoy early morning coffee on the terrace, watching sunrise over the lake and mountains. It's wonderfully chilly in the morning--but by 9am it heats up.
Stephen bonded with deko immediately.  He spends a lot of time entertaining himself rummaging through kitchen cabinets and pulling spices out (we are keeping other things away from him).  He cruises along the kitchen, along TV stand, along the fireplace, and now also, up and down a couple of steps between living room and kitchen -- we are showing him how to go down legs first instead of head first.  We can expect him to walk any day now.
He giggles, 'talks' and makes funny faces all the time.  Somehow he knows exactly when people around him are joking around and laughing about something, and he joins in with his grown-up sounding chuckle, 'heh-heh'.
When I hold him in my lap and he decided to grab someone's attention,  he'll stand up, raise his arm with all fingers outstretched and call 'heeeeh'. I caught him opening a forbidden cabinet and yelled 'ne, ne!' He paused, looked at me, and said something that sounded like 'ne, ne', and then went back to rummaging.
One thing that he is overdoing, and I'm allowing it for now, is nursing.  Since he is spending all this extra time with me, he thinks that it all has to be spent nursing, any chance he has, any time he is in my lap.  I'll have to rethink the plan to nurse him as long as possible, although I never planned to go much longer than a year....

The big kids have been enjoying playing Foosball in the house basement, putting together large puzzles, playing chess with deko, walking with me in the morning up the trails through the forest, collecting pretty rocks and looking out for any interesting animals (we saw a coyote, falcons, woodpeckers, no snakes or bears, thankfully...).  We were also able to walk to a local zoo where we saw much more of the local and not-so-local wildlife.

Morning gathering on the terrace

Hitting the trails in the morning

A brief pause on the trails

Walk by the lake

Deko, taking on the steep street on which we stayed.

Stephen enjoyed eating a good potion of fish and broccoli off of deko's plate.