spin art

Kieran received his spin art kit from my sister at Christmas time...we finally busted it out today! I'd much rather be doing a project with the kids or playing outside than having the TV on-I think we spent over an hour with this!

So easy!

So fun!

Even I joined in on the fun (of course you wouldn't know since I'm rarely in the pictures...I should see how Kieran does behind the camera!)!
Now what to do with these "masterpieces"? These were just a few of the 12, but I'm thinking of framing them for my office at school. Whenever I need a pick-me-up, I always look at pictures of my family or the artwork that's been done at preschool. You just can't get these small moments back, so why not appreciate them a little longer?
Happy Wednesday!

two weeks

Two weeks! That's what I have left of my summer before I have to go back to work...yikes! Where did the time go? A beautiful weekend spent in Tahoe, this day at Angora Lakes,

makes me appreciate every minute of every day!

Two weeks left and I plan on finally starting the goal I wanted to complete by summer's end, which is to print pictures and put them in an album. I can't remember the last time that we did this, other than a handful in our hallway. We have no albums! This is something I HAVE to change! I came across one of  the blogs that I read, Willette, and Kelly must have read my mind! Complete incentive.

Two weeks left and we are now faced with a broken refrigerator, water in the walls (not sure of the damage yet, but this could be bad, bad, bad), and we think the reason for our hardwood floor buckling. Oh please, oh please, it feels like we just finished our construction even though it was 2 years ago! I came home to rubble with a newborn, Lord help me if I have to do it again! I really hope we don't have to move out of the house, so I'm saying A LOT of prayers!

Two weeks left and in two weeks I will be in my 3rd trimester, what? And, I don't really have any pictures of myself to show for it. Time to snap some belly shots! 

Two weeks. Oh, I how I LOVE summer! Time to maximize my time.

little stinger

Kieran has been taking group swim lessons for the past 5 1/2 weeks. He swims 5 days a week, a half hour each lesson. His Little Stinger group (the real swim team is the Stingrays) is fantastic because his group is only 4 kids, including him, with 3 instructors. It's basically been 1 on 1, and has been great for him! At first I was a bit apprehensive that he would be swimming 5 days a week. I didn't want him to have swimming burnout, a summer burn (I've come to the conclusion that he is the whitest kid in our town), or green hair. So far, we've managed to slather on the the sunscreen and haven't missed any spots, his hair is tinged green though better since I started using swimmer's shampoo, and the burnout is all but a distant worry. Kieran told me yesterday how much he loves swim lesssons and his coaches and today, was the icing on the cake. Kieran got to participate in his very first swim meet! With assistance from one of his coaches, he swam the length of the pool!

{Waiting...and no, my kid isn't tan with no shirt and the spandex shorts ;) }

{About to dive off the diving block}

{Go, Kieran, Go!}

{swimming his little heart out}

{And he made it! I was a bit disappointed because I had to bring my point and shoot-right before the meet I checked my camera and my card was full! I didn't have time to download and backup to erase them. I need a second card! Oh well, at least I had something!}

{super proud of himself}

{everyone earned a silver medal and a certificate, it was the highlight of his day!}

Pure happiness, I tell you! Kieran truly loves life and celebrates everything. I learn from him daily and am honored to be his mother. It was also pure chaos at the swim meet. I'm not so sure I want to be a swim team mom, but I'll go with the flow when he decides what he is passionate about. For now, this was SO worth it!

i love this pair!

Fourth of July weekend was fun-filled, everything from a 2 mile hike with the family (Kieran made the whole hike, well almost, I did carry him toward the end!), stomp rockets in our court, to watching the fireworks coordinated with music from the local radio station on top of the rocks overlooking the Lake and casinos (our own private viewing which is spectacular!).

I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful family, and I especially love this pair:

They love each other so much!

They are each other's cheerleader.

They get in tickle wars.

They are awesome and will make the best big brother and sister a baby could ever have.
They are mine.
They are wonderful.