Such is life as a mom during mealtime

All the below is preceded by a "Mommy!" with a tinge of whine:

"I need more milk!"
(repeated by another just seconds after putting the milk back)

"Can I have seconds?"

"More please!"

"Could I have a 3rd course?"

"Can you help me get the foil off my pudding?"

"WOOF! WOOF![I need to go pee and then chase that rabbit!]"

An hour after I started making my own lunch, I'm finally getting to eat it...of course, while making this blog entry!

Such is my life!

Better when it's warmer!

The air has been so thick with heat and humidity. Having a pool 20 feet away makes it so easy to beat the heat and have fun at the same time. Nowadays, the water temperature has been 85 or above...the warmest being 89! The kids have gotten more comfortable in the water. Peter has progressed so much to the point he dips his head underwater without protest and even likes jumping in by himself!

Natalie must have had a little growth spurt since she's now able to touch the bottom of the shallow end and keep her head above the water. Most of the time, she has been going without a vest and is super happy about that. Otherwise, she wears a vest when there are extra kids and extra waves in the pool because she easily could get a mouthful of water. Natalie also has gotten a number of new bathing suits this summer. In total, she has 3 different ones, a Dora one-piece, a bikini (which she calls her 'bras'), and this cute number my mom gave her. It's so classic! Here, Elaine is modeling half of the floatation devices we own! She's very comfortable in the pool...sometimes a little too comfortable. She's the least fearful of them all. So, we always need to keep the fourth eye on her!

This has been a memorable summer for our first at the Bluffwood home. Hopefully, the kids will fondly remember these times when they've grown up.

Gymnastics update on Natalie

Natalie loves loves loves gymnastics! She's been eagerly waiting a whole week to return to Hawkeye Gymnastics for her next lesson. She also was tickled "pink" when her new leotard came in the mail. I almost couldn't get her to take it off after trying it on!

One of the first exercises she tackled was on the uneven bars. It's the kind of flip around that seems easy while you're watching Olympic gymnastics on NBC, but it obviously takes lot of practice to get up on the bar,...

do it with grace,...

and finally succeed!

Then, the basic cartwheel was next. I remember doing these all the time during my childhood. I'm hoping that Natalie will enjoy them as much as I did...looks like that won't be too far off in the future!

One of the last things they practiced was floor exercises, like galloping forward and then sideways. Natalie seems to be a natural for this routine. She had so much fun with it that she could have galloped right out of the gymnasium!

Independent Elaine

Elaine has become Ms. Independent these days. She's discovering what she's capable of...and most times, she's capable of a lot! Less and less she needs (or wants) Mommy or Daddy's help. It's great to see her growing this way, but also sad...our little baby girl is growing up!

Dan Wardell in Iowa City

Oh, how we love IPTV! Why? Not just because it's the only channel we currently get on our TV, but because they have excellent educational kids shows that our kids LOVE. For months, Peter has been telling us (or rather loudly announcing) "DAN WARDELL IS COMING TO IOWA CITY ON JULY 18th!" So, it was set on our Google calendar!

The big day started off when we parked in the garage and saw what Peter claims was Dan Wardell's car.

Natalie promptly said we had to take a picture of it and everything else we saw so that Daddy and Elaine could see it too.
(Elaine was out of sorts that afternoon and stayed home with Daddy)

While waiting in line to get into the story time room, I turned around and there he was in the flesh: Dan Wardell. I literally flipped out and don't know who got more excited, Mommy or the kids. :) I asked to get a picture of him with the kids. He is such a swell guy and did with pizazz!

Story time began it was so entertaining for the kids and adults. It was so great to see how the kids responded to him (he had an amazing power over all the kids in that room...he was magnetic)!

His story took them on a treasure hunt for the orb of fabulousness. On their way, the kids turned into pirates and the whole crowd had a blast giving their best "Aaaaargh"s and "Hi ya' matey"s.

They also had to make a whale laugh to get their first map, so get ready for some funny faces!
I just loved Natalie and her friend Thomas' exchanges of funny faces!

I think they were pretending to be minotaurs here:

After some more pirate jokes* and finally getting to the orb of fabulousness (the free beach balls), the kids snagged one last picture with Dan.

This guy was so awesome and energetic. If you live near Iowa City and missed him, don't worry! He's coming back to Coralville library on July 27th at 10am. I might just go for an encore presentation with Elaine next time. He was THAT entertaining and the kids LOVED it.

*Here's a pirate joke:

Why shouldn't you talk to a pirate?
Because they like to arrrrrrgue.

Natalie's first lesson at Hawkeye Gymnastics

Natalie was so excited to get on that leotard and get ready to go to her first gymnastics class on Wednesday. This was the best picture I snapped in the moments before getting in the car...all others were blurry because she was hopping all over!

They started off with some stretches and leg splits that made my inner thighs say "ouch!" It was a visual reminder that I was much more flexible as a child than as an adult!

Next it was off to the lower balance beam. Gymnastics balance beam might be Natalie's natural apparatus. If you've ever watched Natalie run around, you'll notice she's constantly on her tippy toes. For the longest time at the advice of her pediatrician, we've tried to encourage her to walk flat on her feet for fear she'll end up wearing "special shoes" to help correct it. Well, at her lesson, the instructor told her to walk across on her tippy toes. I could tell by her face, Natalie wasn't sure if she should because "she didn't want to wear special shoes." I ensured her that in gymnastics, it's ok to walk on your tippy toes. After that pep talk, she was happy as a clam!

Don't you just love her dismount?

Among many other demonstrations, the instructor showed Natalie what she should look like when she hops onto the spring board.

What it should like:

This is Natalie's first attempt:

Regardless of form (and the extreme heat and humidity in the gym on the hottest day ever), Natalie had a blast on her first day of gymnastics and can't wait for next Wednesday to go back!

Goo-Goo for Gaga

Moments like this occur on a daily basis these days: