Isaac the water boy!

Isaac just finished 5 weeks of swim lessons at Mt. Hood Community College. He loves the water and is fearless when it comes to being in the pool! Last year we started in the mommy and me class, just singing songs and playing games, but this year we started working on actual swimming skills.

Chris was able to come a few times as well. Isaac loves being thrown in the air, but his favorite activity is jumping off the wall. He does not mind going under a little when you catch him. Each class consisted of singing some group songs, swimming with either foam barbells or kickboards, and practicing our skills. It was hard to get Isaac to want to do anything other than jump!

By the end of the 5 weeks he has learned to lie flat on his back and let us pull him around, kick and move his arms at the same time, and has grown more comfotable putting his face in the water. I am hoping that by next summer we can move him into the first round of swim lessons.
Last night in the bathtub he was "swimming" and was actually doing pretty well. He was putting his face int he water, wich he would not do earlier and was laying flat on his back in the bathtub. He discovered that when your ears are in the water, your voice sounds different! I had a hard time getting him out of his bath!

If anyone in the area is looking for swim lessons, I would recommend Mt. Hood, we have really enjoyed them and they are reasonably priced. I think sign ups for their fall session start this week.

First foods and 4 months

Matthew had his first bowls of rice cereal yesterday. He gobbled it right up! I had tried to feed him on the day he turned 4 months, but he just kept spitting it out, this time he couldn't chow it down fast enough!

Here's to hoping that this will stick to his bones and help him sleep through the night. (We are still up at 3 am most nights)

I realized I never posted his 4 month pictures, here he is, all 16 pounds of him! He is doing great, and just about to grow out of his clothes. Hard to believe he is smaller than Isaac was at this age. As you can see in the picture, Isaac adores his baby brother. We have been really blessed so far as Isaac has adjusted beautifully to having Matthew around and will now say "love baby Maffew!"

Our third child

No, don't worry, we're not pregnant. Just wanted to post some photos of our dog Bogey (yes, this is Chris).

A recording of my day!

Roll Call

So I hear from tons of you out there, "Oh I looked at your blog, loved the pictures", but without comments, I don't know you were here! So, I am taking role, if this is the only time you comment, that is fine, I just want to know that you stopped by! :-)

Here is how to post a comment for those of you who do not know. At the end of each post there is a place that says "0 comments" Click on that and then you can add your comment, and read what others have said! It is that easy.

So please, let me know you stopped by. I too am a lurker on several blogs and comment rarely, so I am just as bad! Thanks for reading our blog, I am glad we can keep in touch with so many people around the world!

Ellie the Elephant

When I was 5 years old, my uncle made me this wonderful wooden elephant. I named it Ellie. It was a favorite item in our house growing up. I sat on it into my college years when watching movies and tv. It had grey ears, but I would pull at the pleather and have since pulled off the outer covering, other than that it is in great condition.

The other day we pulled it out of storage for Isaac. He loves riding on it and climbing on it. It is so fun to see my son enjoy this piece of Basden history. Thank you Uncle Ron for such a great heirloom. I am sure one day our grandkids will be playing on it as well.