Cousins!

With Grant and Melissa currently in Europe, my parents have been staying at their house and watching little Colton. And, since we had the time and Nikos has been talking about swimming a lot, we decided to drive up and visit with them yesterday! It's a long drive (a solid three hours each way), but the kids did great. We got up, got dressed, ate in the car, and arrived at the house at around 10am. Both kids loved seeing Colton again, and so did I! It's amazing how much he changes every time I see him (which clearly isn't often enough).

Anyway, both kids were crazy in love with the pool. Nikos used to be the kid who would cling to us for dear life in there. Well, with his awesome little Puddle Jumper on, he was completely independent! Obviously, we never left him unsupervised (my dad and I were both in the pool... I just got out for a minute to take the pics below), but he really didn't need us. He was kicking and paddling around like a madman, and enjoying every second of it!

Maya, too, enjoyed swimming, despite the fact that she hadn't been in a "real" pool since she was six months old. And she's never had a lesson. But with very minimal support, she was kicking and paddling and putting her face in the water-- it was like she was part fish! She kept telling us to let her go so she could swim by herself, but she really wasn't ready for that. Still, I think that both kids will be independent swimmers before long. And I wish they made Puddle Jumpers for kids that weigh less than 30 pounds. Maya totally needs one!

Anyway... Swimming consumed most of the day, with breaks for food and napping. We left at 7pm, and both kids conked out fairly quickly. Nikos is already begging to go back, so we will have to visit again soon (maybe when Grant and Melissa are actually there, hehe!). :)

And now... the photos!





Today has been much more relaxed, as I have needed the time to recuperate from all the driving and swimming yesterday (my arms are sore from repeatedly catching a little girl who wanted to jump off the side). We did, however, make time to watch the last shuttle launch this morning, which was especially interesting to Nikos:

And then the mail came, bringing a bracelet I had ordered from an Etsy seller I know through my online mommy group. And she included a little something extra-- some personalized spoons! They are technically baby spoons, but both kids can easily use them as toddler spoons. She wrote me a little note saying she needed some names to use for her new product. Love her! That was such a nice little treat, and the kids went crazy (especially Nikos, who recognized both names). Check out this picture from her website-- the kids are famous, hehe!