Swimming Lessons

Last week Kaelin had swim lessons and we could not be more proud of her progress.

I was practically born in the water and would prefer to spend as much time as possible in it, so I was not sure how to handle Kaelin's fear of water. In my mind, I am wondering what in the world should you be afraid of.

We put Kaelin in a 2 week Mommy & Me swim class when she was 1. Then we did 3 weeks of swim lessons when she was 2. Then we did another 3 weeks of swim lessons when she was 3.

Only when she turned 4 did she decide to put her face in the water- willingly. Not only did she put her face in the water but she actually knows how to swim.

I have her scheduled for 1 more week of lessons in July and that will hopefully give her the confidence she needs to swim.

This is my fish swimming....

My fish was coming out of the water... she actually goes down and holds her breath.

My fish was in the deep end... treading water.

Swim... little fish... swim.

Praying for Owen

I follow a few blogs because they are mommies like me raising kids the same age as mine... you would not believe the things you can have in common with someone simply because they have a 4 year old or a new baby.

I began following a blog about a year ago and come to find out they live less than 30 miles from me (another thing in common).

Recently Amanda (mommy) had a little baby boy (Owen). Owen is a healthy, lively boy, but has recently been hospitalized for some breathing problems.

Owen could really use lots of prayers right now as the doctors try to find out what is going on with Owen and why he stops breathing at night.

Amanda could also use lots of prayers. She needs strength, courage, and strong faith to get through this. Her husband has to return to work and she is beginning to wear down and could really use some prayers.

The blog is http://prayingforabbygrace.blogspot.com/.

Father's Day Weekend

We woke up early Saturday morning to continue our Father's Weekend.

Our plan was to head to Galveston for a fun filled weekend.

We planned on leaving the house by 8:00 AM, but managed to get out by 9:30 (which was remarkably good for us).

We stayed at the Hilton- Galveston and met my dad (PawPaw) and Elfi at the hotel. The only real plan we had was to hang out in the swimming pool and at the beach as much as possible.

Calan and Aspen came down Saturday to hang out with us, eat dinner, but then they had to go back to Kingwood for work on Sunday.

We played on the Strand for a little while (bought ice cream floats at our favorite candy store).

It was a great Father's weekend that we all enjoyed. I got to spend it with my two favorite Father's - my Dad and Todd. I just wish we could do this every weekend.

Baseball Game

We decided to have a Father's Weekend rather than just a Father's Day.

So we began our weekend with a trip to the Astro's game on Friday night. It was Astro's vs. Texas Rangers. So regardless of the outcome, we would come out a winner.

We started out getting hot dogs and drinks. Made it to our "nose bleed" seats. (But they were cheap- and cheap is what you go for when it is only Friday and we had an entire weekend of fun planned).

Once in the seats with hot dogs in hand - well some of us... I ended up with my hot dog (topped with ketchup and relish) upside down in my lap.

Yes, I was wearing light khaki pants and a pink and white shirt- so you can only imagine the mess.

Todd went back down to get some more napkins--- but napkins weren't going to tackle this mess.

So I wiped up as much relish and ketchup as I could and then went to the bathroom to see what soap and water could accomplish.

I got as much off as I could and then went back up to our seats.

I enjoyed the rest of the game (especially when my pants dried).

Kaelin loved it. She is a big fan of going to sporting events and so are Todd and I. So it was the perfect kick off to our Father's Weekend.

On Friday nights, there is an awesome fireworks display after every home game. So, we stayed to watch it. It was lots of fun- worth buying cheap seats just to stay for the fireworks show.

The Astro's did lose the game (to no ones surprise)- but we had a blast and the three of us came out winners.

4 year old check up

Kaelin had her 4 year old check up

She is 39 1/2 inches tall. (she dropped below the 50th percentile- maybe she will end up being a shorty like me.)

Weighs 34 pounds. (she is in the 50th percentile- still a skinny little green bean)

Has 20/20 vision. (This made me laugh... Todd and I have such horrible vision. I told the doctor that 2 sets of bad eyes must have made a good set of eyes).

Has perfect hearing. (so now I know she hears me when I speak. I wish they could test for listening- that might not be so perfect).

She wears a 4T- sometimes a 5T. (the doctor did not tell me this, I just thought it was a fun fact to include).

Her shoe size is a 9. (same as above- fun fact).

The AWFUL part....
She had to get 5 different shots. They were awful shots. I had already talked to Kaelin about getting the shots, so she knew what was coming.

I let her bring her favorite blanket into the doctors office.

I promised to get her ice cream as soon as we left. (I probably would have given her anything she asked for, I felt so bad for her).

I told her to think about the kind of ice cream she wanted while she was getting the shots. When the nurse gave her the first shot, Kaelin starting yelling "Ice Cream... Ice Cream... Ice Cream". I guess that was making her feel better.

By the time we left, she had stopped crying, had 4 stylish band aids on her legs and we were off to Baskin Robbins. She chose a chocolate dipped sprinkle cone with vanilla ice cream with sprinkles on top.

Happy Birthday Camilla

We are just some regular party animals. This is like our 50th birthday party to go to this year.

Happy 4th birthday Camilla!!!!

Little cutie pie....

Cutie Pie and Camilla after they got their face painted. (Who would have guessed that Kaelin would have requested a butterfly???)

Then, the amazing balloon artist made them some balloons (again... who would have guessed that Kaelin would request a butterfly???)

Just swinging with my friend....

Last Day of Soccer Camp

Last day of soccer camp....

Luckily, it was nothing like Day 1 of soccer camp (the flash flood). Although, it was blazing hot (we have the sunburns to prove it).

Kaelin really enjoyed her soccer camp. Luckily we had wonderful Mrs. Mary around to help us out this week, otherwise, Kaelin would not have been able to participate in the soccer camp this year. THANK YOU MRS. MARY!!!

Of all of the fun games, Duck... Duck... Goose seemed to be the favorite of all of the kids.

Kaelin met a little partner in crime while in soccer. Were they doing what the coach asked???? I am pretty sure the answer is NO. They are faced backwards, playing with a flag. I am quite sure that was not the activity the coach outlined for them.

Kaelin's presentation of Old Glory to coach Nick. He loved it. And yes... the motive for the assignment did revolve around the World Cup games. We proved our point. GO TEAM USA!!!!

Coach Nick presented Kaelin with her certificate. He was very kind on the certificate. He could have written something revolving around "does her own thing", "makes her own rules", "insists on her way being the best way", "comes in for more drink breaks than any other kid", etc. But instead, he summed it up by saying "she always has a smile on her face and is the first to volunteer to help the coach".

We will be playing fall soccer, hopefully the weather won't be quite so blazing hot.

USA vs. ENG

Kaelin got a kind of crazy assignment at her soccer camp the other day. Her coach (from England) asked all of the kids to bring an England flag to the last day of camp. The kids could make the flag, color it, use markers, print it from the printer, etc.

After I told Todd about the assignment, it occurred to him that our coach may have a little ulterior motive for the bizarre assignment....

Since the World Cup (largest sporting event in the world) was starting on Friday and the U.S. vs England was on Saturday, we figured out the coach might be trying to send subliminal messages to the kids.

So we sent a BIGGER message....

We made two flags. We completed the England flag assignment, but then made a HUGE American Flag.

Kaelin was so proud of her flag. She knows a lot about the U.S. flag, so she can share some knowledge with the coach.

Another Day At the Beach

This is how we plan to spend most of our summer (unless the nasty oil slick makes its way to our beaches- praying hard that this won't happen)

Sandcastles have become one of our favorite things (really it is the destroying of the sandcastles that is Kaelin's favorite)

Running on the beach... playing in the water... jumping waves... playing in the sand (ignoring the nasty looking seaweed that washed up on our beach)

Addison's Birthday Party

Bad camera mommy... Addison's birthday party and Addison was not in any of the pictures I took.

Say Cheese (pizza)...


Kaelin and Bryson... you can see how the two of them can cause some mischief together.

Happy birthday Addison... I will get a picture of you at the next thing we do.

Doctor Day

Kaelin was such a big girl at the doctor the other day...

No worries... everything is fine.

When she had a kidney infection a couple of months ago, her doctor wanted her to follow up with a pediatric urologist and have an ultrasound on her kidneys. Her doctor was afraid the infection may have damaged her kidneys since the results came back showing the infection was pretty significant.

Thank you Lord... no damage... no signs of any infection... perfect little, normally functioning kidneys.

Last Day of School

The last day of school was full of fun and excitement.

Last day of chapel... singing praise and worship songs.

Last day to sit on the carpet and sing good morning to all of the kids and teachers in her class.

Now... it is party time...

the last day of school was water day, so there were lots of slides, water, and shaving cream.

I really think Kaelin enjoyed the shaving cream the most. She probably would have spent all day playing in that shaving cream (aha... idea for boredom at the house).


Sliding down the water slide...

Next to the shaving cream... the Popsicles were probably Kaelin's favorite thing. By the end of the day, Kaelin had managed to plow through about 10 Popsicles (which- surprisingly- is not her own personal best).

Memorial Day

No big plans for Memorial day... We just went over to Elfi's, hung out with PawPaw, swam in the pool, and ate some great food.

Soccer Camp Day 1

Kaelin had soccer camp June 7-11...

This was Day 1.

The park was completely submerged under water. We got a flash flood that dropped almost 4 inches of rain in about 1 hour.

Camp was cancelled for the first day. BooHoo... Kaelin was so upset, but she understood- the reason was very obvious on the cancellation- seeing as how you could not even see the field.

The long awaited dance recital

It's Here.... It's Here... It's Really Really Here....

A year is a long to wait to finally get to wear an adorable costume... get on a stage... and get to dance and tumble for a crowd of people... all while wearing a tiara.

Kaelin and her sweet little friend, Laney.

Kaelin's class danced to Beauty and the Beast. They were in Belle costumes.

Tumble time... these are the attempts at cart wheels (which we have not perfected yet- that was the cutest part).

Finale time... performing to "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus.

We gave Kaelin roses after her performance... (yes she was swinging them around like her tee-ball bat- but she was very proud of them).

Recital Rehearsal

Finally... Recital time was quickly approaching.

Kaelin has been attending a creative dance class all year long and now she is about to get to show us what she's got.

She gets to be on a stage, so you know she is so super excited about that... (now if these other kids would just get off of my stage)

We had to attend a practice session during the morning of the recital. (Kaelin's little class had to go through their routine twice.... not because they were so good the first time that they needed to show everyone how it was done)

Practicing the finale... with several of the kids crying.