Peggy's Pool Plunge

What's better than taking a swim in a nice cool pool in the midst of one of the hottest summer's in recent years? Having that pool be at your aunt's house just a few miles down the rode and having two kids that love the water just as much as I do. Actually I think Hayden likes it more than I do. We have not been to Aunt Peggy's and Uncle Tobin's as much as I would have liked this summer but hey it's not over yet so I think we'll manage to get in some more time before the seasons end.

Jeff has pretty much be gone the month of July (hence the lack of time for blogging on my part) helping his brother with the renovation of his new home and boy did it need work. I felt anxious just going over there a handful of times seeing what all needed to be done. I could not imagine the huge undertaking with a toddler. Thankfully when we bought our house and did a complete remodel, kitchen and all, we did so before the arrival of children. I don't think we will be doing that again in our lifetime.

Anyway, back to that relaxing pool. One Tuesday I packed up the kids and all the gear that goes along with taking a baby and a toddler to the pool and met Aunt Jilly there. Peggy was home that day as well and so it worked out well as I learned there is no way I could be there with both kids alone. I did take the pack n play and had Landon in there a while (or maybe that was another day). Hayden has gotten so comfortable with the water. He swims with only his floaties and loves to jump in and go underwater. Jeff has taught him to "shake it off". If he gets water in his nose or in his eyes he literally "shakes it off" like a wet dog shakes off the water from his coat. One night after Jeff got off work I met him over there with the boys and Hayden was so excited because he knew Daddy would throw him across the pool and so father taught son the importance of jumping in the pool. No not the same that a mother teaches.... I taught jumping out far from the side so you don't strike your head on the side of the pool; don't run near the pool; never get into the water if an adult is not in the water; don't swim in the deep end. Daddy's lessons are.... stayed curled up in a ball for the best splash when you do a cannon ball; hold your breath right before you hit the water when I throw you from one side of the pool down to the other; "shake it off", belly flops don't hurt that bad; higher and longer throws of the child are more fun. SO who do YOU think Hayden likes to swim with. Yep, I guess that's why God made mom's and dad's.. to balance out the rules of fun and rules of safety.
Landon has done his fair share of swimming this summer. He likes the water as well but I have learned he needs to be exposed gradually and prefers warmer and calmer water. He seems to enjoy it for about 20 minutes at a time although in all honesty he really has never been given a fair chance at most things including the pool. Poor thing seems like he never gets to finish a nap. With Hayden naps were predictable. I seldom would wake him from his nap unless he missed a feeding as a newborn or we had somewhere we absolutely had to be but we tried as best we could to work around his nap schedule. Poor Landon probably hasn't had an uninterrupted nap in his own bed all summer long. It just seems we always have some place to be or something to do and thus he gets woken up. What a great sport he is because no matter what he wakes in a great mood. He is pretty laid back and usually only fusses when he is tired and wants to go to sleep. He really is an easy baby (now I couldn't say that for the first 5 months of his life).