Beating the Heat

We spent another morning at the pool, as it's been our custom these past few weeks. Charleston is simply too hot for much else these days. Hamilton was feeling much better today, and after two weeks of swimming lessons, his new nickname is Nemo. He loves to dramatically take a breath, dive his face into the water, and kick his legs with all his might. He swims a few feet--from me to the steps, from the wall to me, wherever. He loves it.

Collier's also loving the water, but he has to be held or watched intensely. So swimming with two water-loving boys is a full-time job. This morning we met lots of friends at the pool, so I had a little help at times from other moms.

After Hamilton's day of feeling a bit under the weather, he spent much of this afternoon throwing the biggest fit he's ever thrown in his life. Maybe this is why they call them the terrible threes? Somehow I had patience for his episode, but it was different and new for me to see. I might rethink some punishments and lectures because I know I can't handle that strong of a fit often.

Some New Things

Here's a list (I'm a fan of them) explaining some new advances, new realizations, and new occurrences in the last few days and weeks.

1. Collier is "walking" now. He's been standing up from a sitting position for a few weeks, but this week he started taking steps on his own with no encouragement. Sometimes his little expression when he's walking on his own says, "Yes, I can do this...that's it...steady." I think the most steps he's taken in a row is probably five, but it's still a surprise when he comes walking in from the next room.
2. Hamilton started putting an "s" at the beginning of some words. Instead of "why you 'pank me?" this week, a few times he said "don't spank me" as he shook his head. Yes, we've had lots of spankings this week. Most times Hamilton still calls it a "'panking 'tick"--an old paint stirrer. Part of me is happy he seems to be outgrowing the no-"s" way of speaking, but it's also really cute and fun to hear.
3. I survived my first week of summer with all three kids at home all day every day. We planned several playdates, visited the library, and hung out at the pool yesterday. It's been a long week, so I'm rewarding myself with a date night on Saturday with Mr. Morgan. I'm planning for us to see Snow White and the Huntsman. He's been talking about seeing the other Charlize Theron movie.
4. Claire has embraced her "teenage summer" by sleeping in late, losing herself in a book series, and seeing her neighborhood friends. She has still managed to be helpful to me most days, and Mr. Morgan has her cutting the grass as part of her chores.
5. I've been sent almost a dozen hacked/spammer emails from three different friends whose Yahoo accounts have been compromised. Two things: I'm thankful I use Gmail, and Yahoo email sucks.
6. I've also decided that voicemails stress me out. To have a voicemail waiting on me makes me feel like a failure--I've failed to answer the ringing phone in time, I've failed to click over fast enough from my previous call, I've failed to hear my phone ring or turn the ringer on, I've failed to give the caller enough information previously such that an interrupting phone call is necessary, etc. Emails sitting in my Inbox and text messages waiting to be read do not have the same effect. Why is that?

A Day at the Beach

If you've ever described something as "a day at the beach" and meant that something was easy or relaxing, then you weren't talking about spending a day at the beach with little kids. Mimi came for a short visit, so we spent Friday at the beach with the kids. Since Travis was also in town with Cheri for a wedding and festivities, he got to come along as well. Taking the boys to the beach is a big job, but they do love it--and they look so cute in the sand (even Hamilton's ghostly shade thanks to sunscreen).

Sharing toys at the beach was just as difficult as sharing at home. Also at home, we keep Collier's pacifier in at times to keep his drooling in check, but at the beach we kept his pacifier in to discourage sand from going in by the shovelful.

Hamilton splashed in the shallow water, and he loved seeing the kite-boarder just beyond the swimming area.

Claire's half day of school meant we arrived later, but she made up for lost time by searching for shells nearly the whole time.

After lunch and more beach play, Collier was zonked. Mimi rolled him a bit in the stroller where he promptly fell asleep.

We propped him up as best we could in the shade, but the poor dear was so sandy and sticky from salt water that he didn't sleep long.

On the Water

Last weekend we spent Saturday morning boating around the Charleston harbor with friends who own a boat. We took both boys, so this boat ride was not relaxing--but it was fun after Collier got used to the wind and sea spray in his face. The boys looked so cute in their life jackets, though poor Collier was so front-heavy in his that it was hard for him to maneuver.

After a picnic on the boat, we anchored for some swimming and jumping off the back of the boat into the cold water. The boys quickly fell fast asleep in our arms for the last 45 minutes as we rode around the harbor, which was much more relaxing for us. We look forward to more boat rides this summer!