UNCP Swim School

Swim school is going great! We have three more lessons and we'll be finished. Ethan was moved up to the advanced class on the first day. I think there were 13 children in his original class, but he was the only one moved up. One other child was asked if she wanted to move up, but she declined. Pretty impressive to me! I was a little concerned because of his age (the other children appear to be between 7 and 10), but I asked two separate swim instructors if they thought he was too young since his maturity level is not of a 6 + year old. They said that if I put him back in his original class, I might as well take him out all together. He has fully mastered all that that class has to offer. I am thinking about putting him in the Lumbee Games which are also offered by the college. It is basically a swim team. I haven't talked to Ethan about it yet, so I'll keep you posted!

Emerson has done great while Ethan is taking his lessons. I have not had any problems with her going near the pool. Luckily I have several friends with children her age as well and they pretty much entertain each other. I was afraid that she would try to jump in the pool because of her lack of fear of the water, but I have been pleasantly surprised. She does jump right in at our pool though. Completely under water too. Little fish. :)

We have a busy few weeks coming up, so I will try and do better blogging. We are going to Myrtle Beach this weekend and then in three weeks we are going to the mountains. I cannot wait for either trip, but especially the mountain one. We will finally get to see my sister and nephews! I miss them so much. I can't wait to see the kids playing with their cousins. Logan, my eldest nephew, has been asking when he can see Ethan since they landed in Tennessee. I sure wish they lived closer! :(

I have compiled an album of swim videos. They are short clips mainly taken for Chris to see the different things that are being taught. Hopefully he will get to come and see him swim towards the end of the week. Ethan would be SO excited!

Our Little Mouths of the South

FPWS Goodbye Ceremony

Ethan's class had a "Goodbye Ceremony" on Friday. The children sang songs and then were presented with awards. His teacher spoke a little about each child which I have on video in the album. Ethan wanted to be with Chris and I, so he got himself so upset that he did not do very well on stage. Nevermind the fact that he hates being in front of people! Thank God his other teacher pulled him to the side of the stage so that he could calm down. He eventually came around somewhat. I was so busy focusing on him that I failed to see Emerson running around on the stage. So far, she does not seem to have developed any social anxiety what-so-ever! I did not get many pictures of Ethan because he was just not a happy camper. I did take some of the decorations that I was in charge of. My in-laws as well as Chris came to help with the balloons, thankfully! We ate lunch at the school and came home for nap. You never would have known Ethan was so upset if you could have seen him running around during lunch with his friends. Baffling!

He has one more day of school left on Wednesday. We are so excited! The pool will be our home away from home for the next few months. We signed Ethan up for swim school at UNCP again this year, so that starts next week. People say I am crazy to have him take lessons again, since he can clearly swim, but I want him to be a good, strong swimmer. I was self taught and I want him to learn the correct ways! Pray that I can keep Emerson away from the pool while he takes his class!

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PS: In the web album, there is an album titled June 3, 2009 which has pictures of the Kickoff to Summer Reading party sponsored by the library. There are just a few pictures in there of the kids with some of the super heroes that I thought I would share.

Spring Sing 2009

Ethan's school had their annual Spring Sing on Thursday evening. Ethan was definitely not in his comfort zone in front of all of those people, but I am very proud that he got up there and sang anyway! He certainly got his fear of being in front of people honest. As you'll see, the three year old class sang four songs. It is also a way to display some of their art and hold a silent auction. Each class paints two pieces to be auctioned off. We won the more colorful one which will be displayed in Ethan's room.

Ethan and his best bud, Anna.

Emerson also made us proud by sitting still until almost the end. Although when Ethan walked in with his class, (it was silent by the way) she proceeded to yell, "Hi E-nuh!!" Not just once, but several times. Luckily it's such a small school that we pretty much know all of the parents and they got a big kick out of it. Pictures and a video are in the album.

Prissy Polka Dilly Tea Party

Emerson and I went to the Prissy Polka Dilly Tea Party put on by Exploration Station last night. My friend Ashley came over and rolled her hair. As you all know, I am not a "frilly" person and have never let Emerson wear anything too girly. I am more into trendy clothes for her than the lace and ruffles. However, I gave in last night when Ashley asked if I wanted her hair curled. At first, I was about to run her hair under water and go because it was SO curly. We let the curlers stay on for about 5 minutes and it was still that curly. That little girl has got some hair!! It helped that she already has tons of body in it. It actually turned out to look really good! Anyway, she did a lot better at the tea party than I thought she would. She is so girly anyhow, but I didn't think she'd stay with me in the lines. We waited a long time to have her nails painted and she sat right there with her hands flat on the table. She loves having her nails and toenails painted. We took a picture together, made beaded bracelets and made a cute picture frame. Some of the dads volunteered to serve the food and drinks in their tuxedos. While we were eating our sconces and such, Victoria Huggins sang her little heart away. Emerson was beautiful as usual and there are lots of pictures in the album to prove it!

Ethan and Chris had their own "date." They played basketball and went to dinner together. Ethan chose Taco Bell, so I am sure that Chris was happy about that! Then they came back home and watched a movie together. They could have not done a thing and Ethan would have been happy...as long as his daddy was with him!

Happy Birthday Chris!

The kids and I are so very blessed to have you in our lives. You're such a wonderful husband and an even better father. Love you to pieces!

Crabs & Strawberries

Chris had to work this past weekend (and every other weekend in May except for one while he is in Las Vegas...this month is gonna be rough on Ethan), so the Turners and I took the kids to the beach! It was a last minute thing, but was well worth it. It rained some Saturday morning when we were heading out to the beach, but by the time we got back from breakfast, it had cleared up. Chris got out of work late and did not get down there until 5:00 or so Saturday afternoon, so he missed all the beach fun (which I am certain he was very glad about since he hates sitting on the beach!). We headed to Calabash and ate at the Boundry House (excellent restaurant, by the way) and then looked in some of the shops. We searched and searched for a miniature golf place and found one at Ocean Isle. After I smoked Heath in mini golf, we headed back to Holden Beach. We decided not to go out on the beach on Sunday since Mandy, Heath and I got a bit of a sunburn the day before. We hung out at the house until lunch and ended up shopping a bit. Thanks to Mandy, we took home two hermit crabs. Ethan named them "Batman" and "Batgirl." He ran into school Monday telling people that he "had crabs." Nice.

Chris came home early this afternoon and picked up Ethan to run errands with him. They ended up bringing me my Mother's Day present early. Edible Arrangements! Mmmmm! SO good. They enjoyed eating all the fruit as much as I did. Luckily for me, they did not like the chocolate covered strawberries! After dinner we played outside and rode bikes to check on Grandma and Grandpa's house. Everyone is asleep and I am on my way. Goodnight!