Update on Swim Lessons

First attempt at wearing a life vest...

Boy swimming makes you super tired!

Kicking for Daddy


"Motor boat, motor boat go so slow,
motor boat, motor boat go so fast,
motor boat, motor boat step on the gas!"

Floating on the frog mat...

Zoe has been doing so well during swim lessons this week. She has her moments still, but does fantastically with her instructor and loves the singing, even though she waits until she gets home to sing every song. She had to put on a life vest as part of the class in order to pass. She wasn't having it at first, but right when Jamie (our instructor) asked Zoe to put it on, she did without a fuss. At least we have trained her well to listen to others :)...hopefully that continues through her education too! Today was a great day in the pool! She accomplished the last goal that we have set for her for this session of swim lessons...she walked/bounced in the 2ft. section of the pool all by herself!!! This means that she kicks on her tummy and back with assistance, kicks using a kickboard, goes underwater completely, blows bubbles, "jumps" off the side of the pool, and has gotten used to pouring water over her head. Tomorrow is a big day...we test her to see if she passes the parent/child class. The classes every day for two weeks was the best decision for Zoe. We can't wait to begin another session after we return from vacation. If she does well in the second session of the parent/child class, we may put her into the tiny tot class...we'll see...it's makes Mommy a little nervous.

Potty Training...

Zoe is potty training! She started on Tuesday and we would like to say that she has not had an accident in more than two days!!! We decided to go cold turkey, except for naps and nighttime. She has been keeping those diapers dry for the most part too!
On Sunday we asked her is she wanted to stop wearing diapers and wear big girl panties and she said yes. I asked her if she would like us to get her her own potty. She said, "I want a potty with my own toilet paper." Ask and you shall receive little one (for now anyhow). Sooooooo....Shaun and I went out and found her her own big girl potty with toilet paper. On Tuesday we put her straight into panties and she was thrilled...until her first accident. That was no fun, she was so shocked and wouldn't go for awhile after that. We thought we had traumatized her...since then she has done so awesome. It scares her to death to let the peepee or poop out, but once she does, she is so proud of herself and we have a party every time. This was much quicker than we anticipated and we are so proud of our little baby girl!

Swim Lessons

"Bye Mommy, I am going to swim with Daddy."

Pouring water on her head.


Smiling :)

Playing with swim toys...

The whole lesson wasn't all smiles...

Watching Daddy blow bubbles.

Zoe started swim lessons on Monday. We signed her up for the two weeks straight classes, anticipating some resistance from her because of last year. This way she would become more familiar with the water and her teacher each day. I think it is working. The first day Shaun and Zoe swam and every day thereafter Shaun and I both got in the water with Zoe. She is very intimidated by new experiences, so she is warming up to it. After every lesson, she tells everyone who will listen that she went swimming and had a great time. She is getting so good at kicking, but is not a fan of floating on her back. The teacher sings songs with the group and Zoe is just such a sponge that she sings the songs in the car now. It is really too cute! She is also very observant these days...she watched Shaun blow bubbles on Monday and was blowing them on Tuesday before her swim teacher told her to. She even put her head completely under the water...she wasn't a fan of Mommy after doing that. The little ones are even learning how to jump off the side of the pool into the water. Zoe prefers the "scoot" into the water versus the jump, but I know she will jump very soon. Note to self...do not start swim lessons and potty training at the same time!!! Poor little thing had one day that was so rough in the water because she had to pee, but just wouldn't go in the water, so she worried about holding it instead of swimming. Talk about torture!!! We have one week to go and will probably sign up for another session later this summer.

Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers that we know!!! Today was a really great day. Zoe woke her Daddy up and had their normal morning routine. We had a late breakfast that I made for all of us and Daddy went golfing. When he got home we ran a few errands, then I made Chinese food for dinner. We just hung out and Zoe gave her Daddy another Dodger Daddy t-shirt and an apron with her hand print on it. The apron was a hit!

On the Zoe front, she has grown into this little person before our eyes. She is learning so much everyday and completely blowing us away. We started swim lessons on Monday, potty training on Tuesday, and are really enjoying our time at home with Zoe. She loves to sing and dance all over the house, play outside, climb, go to the park (but not down the slides very often), go for bike rides in her bike trailer, talk back (yes...terrible twos...time-outs work most of the time...phew!), and hang out with her cousins.

Baby Chicks

My second grade class decided to get fertilized eggs and wait the 21 days for them to hatch. It was a great thing to have as a tool for keeping the class somewhat under control for the last 4 weeks. Anyways, we always like to give Zoe opportunities to see or do anything neat that we do at school, so she gets the learning experience. She was able to see the eggs while the were in the incubator and after one hatched we took her to school to check the baby chick out. Let's just say that she has been talking about the baby chicks for days! When we sent them off to the ranch, Zoe happened to be at school to pick up our sitter's kiddo, so she got to say farewell to the 13 baby chicks that we had at the school.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Helping Daddy mow...

"This is a tough job!"

I think this is my favorite from this round of shots...

Here is my trick...bribe with candy :) (I at least get a few more smiles and she stays still for a brief moment.)

She is such a little girl these days!

Happy Mother's Day!!! It has been a really great Mother's Day today. It is such a busy time of year, so my wish was to just relax. I was able to get away for a couple of hours last night to go shopping. Then this morning Zoe slept in a little. :) We went to breakfast with Grandma and I went out shopping with her for awhile. Zoe stayed with Daddy and helped mow the lawn and went to the park. She had a blast! The first thing out of her mouth when I got home was that she went down the slide. That is progress for us because she is pretty scared of the slides and usually doesn't go down them by herself. We all got to nap this afternoon and just hang out. Zoe is such a chatter box these days, she loves to take over our phones when someone calls to talk with them. Such a girlie girl!

I really can't believe that this is my 3rd Mother's Day!!! The time has just flown by and I can't imagine life any other way. Zoe is such a blessing and has brought us so much joy! I am so thankful to have such a great baby girl! The best is when she comes up to me and says, "I love you, Mommy" or gives me a hug and kiss.

Zoe, I'll love forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be!!! (The song in the book I'll Love You Forever, one of Zoe's favorite bedtime books...)

ABCs

Wednesday morning Shaun and I woke up to Zoe singing, talking, and saying her ABCs!!! She said them in order!!! And added "Now I know my ABCs...next time won't you sing with me"...that part wasn't to clear, but we got the gist. I forget how young ones think that "LMNOP" is one letter. Too cute!!! We were so proud that we were woohooing, clapping, and saying yeah through the wall.