David - Our Little Helper

I just wanted to add to what Sarah has been saying about all the help the kids have been the past number of days. David has tried to be a helper too!

A couple days ago, our little man toddled over to the couch, got Sarah's dinner bowl and fork, walked them over to the sink, reached way up and pushed them into the sink! Unfortunately, I don't have a picture or video, since I had no idea what he was about to do - I thought he was just stealing her bowl. :)

Anytime he sees one of us loading the dryer, he scurries over to help. The other day, he actually came over and helped me load the washer - he stood in the laundry basket and handed me clothes one at a time. Took a while, but was much more fun! I have a video of David helping load the dryer:

Today, right about 5pm, David decided he was going to feed the dogs. It was uncanny - as 5pm is their usual dinner time, yet none of us had yet mentioned it. I could be wrong, but I don't think our 15 month old knows how to tell time! :) -- He came into the living room where I was working, and grabbed both dog bowls. Then he walked over to the laundry room to get some dog food - Sarah had one of the other kids help fill the bowls. Then, David came back to the living room with two bowls full of food and made the dogs sit (at least I think so - he had his pacifier in his mouth!). As a reward, he helped himself to some of Peanut's food.

This evening, I spent a while roto-tilling another area in our yard to plant grass. David came up a couple of times and held onto the handle, as if to help me. He looked up and smiled, with a very proud look on his face.

Sarah and I talked about it today - we cannot believe what a big boy our David is already! He certainly has a personality unlike any of the other kids. The way he nods his head or even his whole body when he
"approves" of something we do for him is a crack-up! I will try to get it on video one day soon.



- Paul

Kids are big helpers

I forgot that I wanted to share about how amazing the kids have been. I can't seem to edit my blog posts on the iPad so I am starting a new post. One of these days I will figure how to blog on an iPad properly.

Yesterday Isaac worked hard and vacuumed our downstairs. He did a great job considering he is 6 years old. He was very happy to help out. Today Isaac fed the dogs, he helped with David, and he helped with his and Ethan's laundry. He brought their basket downstairs, and Paul taught him how to put it in the washer properly. Then Isaac took stuff out of the dryer that was already in there, and loaded his clothes into the dryer. He was so proud to participate in all of the steps of doing laundry. Ethan helped by doing an amazing job vacuuming the downstairs and filling the dishwasher. I was amazed at how helpful they were, and at how much they can do even at a young age. They were pretty excited about receiving bigger allowances this week too. Elizabeth is a bit young to help out much, but she is great at feeding the dogs and wiping down things with disinfectant wipes. I am sure we will find some fun cleaning opportunities for her in the weeks to come.

I have some pretty amazing kids!! I wanted to share that with the world. I want my children to grow up and know how to clean a home and cook for themselves. My boys will be taught just as much as Elizabeth. I want my future daughter-in-laws to be blessed with a husband that can cook and clean like my husband does. :) I don't need Paul's help all of the time, but Paul can follow a recipe and makes some meals better than I do. Paul does laundry, cleans bathrooms, washes dishes, mops the floors.......he does it all. I am blessed beyond my dreams with a husband that will step up and help out when he is needed most. He is working, going to school for his Masters Degree, and now he is taking care of me and the kids AND the house while I recover. Add in the fact that he is on call for the next week, and I have a pretty amazing, hard working husband that is going to need a vacation when I finally recover and can return to duty. Thank you Paul for sacrificing so much for our family.

Sorry for the long post about my family. I just feel truly blessed right now with an amazing family. Even with all of my pre-term labors and after delivering my babies, I never stuck to bed rest. I was always right back on my feet doing my mother/wife job. This is the first time that I have stuck to dr's orders and stayed off of my feet. I am learning to let others take care of me, and it isn't easy to do. I have a strong desire to care for my family, but I know my job is to heal, and in order to heal, I must rest.

Sarah

Ethan Made the Team!

So yesterday our whole family went to support Ethan's time trials at ACES Swim Club. He was doing trials to prove he could make the cut-off time to move up from the Jokers practice group to the Jacks. He was required to swim the 100 yard freestyle in under 2:10 4 times and the 100 yard individual medley in under 2:25 4 times. Ethan came well below the cut-offs consistently with freestyle times averaging around 1:45 and IM times around 2:10!

We are so proud of Ethan for all his hard work and dedication week in and week out. We are also grateful for such a great coaching staff - Coach Morgan cheered for him and encouraged him the entire IM! It helps that he's been taking private lessons with Coach Morgan, and will continue to do so.




After swimming, the family went to Dairy Queen to celebrate Ethan's victory! Everyone enjoyed their ice cream treats, even David! :)

Isaac's haircut

I got a chance to take Isaac to get a haircut this morning. He definitely needed one before going back to school after spring break. He and I were both very happy with how nice his haircut turned out! Isaac says he loves Floyd's Barbershop. :-)

Doesn't he look handsome?


- Paul

We used to have a life, but now we are swim parents!!

Yep, I found that bumper sticker online today, and it pretty much sums up our life. Isaac is joining the Smoky Hill Sharks for the summer team, and he is super excited. He practiced a lot with Ethan on Saturday during open swim at Safesplash. So, starting April 30th, Isaac will begin practicing with the Shark coaches. Ethan is on the fence on whether or not he wants to join the Sharks as well. We think this is a great opportunity for Isaac to be exposed to the competitive swimming world, and for both boys to meet kids their age in our community. We don't know anyone in our community with children our children's ages. Most of our neighbors' children are much older.

I personally hope Ethan goes for the summer team. This has been a hard year as he started learning to swim one year ago, and didn't earn a single medal all year with his year-round team. I think the summer team could give him the opportunity to have lots of fun, make new friends, and boost his confidence. We have heard that age 9 is one of the more difficult years for swimmers because they are competing with 10 year olds. Whatever happens we already know we have officially become a swim family. Chlorine, swim caps and goggles, Jammers, tons of wet towels, weekends cheering on the kids and many family memories to come.

We are swim parents!!