Swimming Pools and Showers

Evangeline is back at swim class for one more week.  My goodness, she has become quite the little swimmer!  One day this week, to all of our surprise, she swam the whole width of the pool by herself!  Ben, her swim teacher, kept backing up as she swam to him and before she knew it, there she was at the other side!  We were all in shock.  Ben said he was going to need to think up some new things for her to do now that she can swim.  They've been working on diving and swimming underwater for a diving stick.  She grabbed the stick twice today!  She also has started jumping off the board without a floatie and then swimming to the ladder by herself.  You can sure see a look of confidence in her face jumping off the diving board compared to the pictures I posted in my former entry.  I'm just so proud of her.  It also cracks me up to hear her talking Ben's head off during her class.  I've heard her tell him all sorts of things...."My daddy has the loudest sneeze",  "Sydney peed in the pool at the pool party yesterday"......

 

 

After swim class Tuesday Evangeline and I met my friends and mom's for lunch at a café in Sullivan, IN for a sort-of-surprise baby shower.  I was so touched.  We had such a wonderful time.  I think it's definitely safe to say we now have everything we need for our little guy.  

Girl's Trip

Mom, Evangeline and I took a girl's trip to McCormick's Creek State Park last weekend.   It was a blast.  We stayed at the Canyon Inn and thoroughly enjoyed our time there.  As soon as we checked in we wasted no time getting to the pool.  That was top priority on Evangeline's list of things to do.  We had dinner there at the Inn and admired all the beautiful birds that come to their many feeders hanging on the porch.  After we ate we went into Ellettsville for a game of putt-putt.  This was Evangeline's first time to putt-putt and she just loved it!  She really got a kick out of seeing what each hole looked like.  Ellettsville has a pretty cool course.  Of course, I've never gotten to actually putt-putt there due to the fact that mother brock her foot in the parking lot on the way in when we went as children....but not bones were broken this time and we actually got to do it!  Good job, Mom!  After our game we went next door to Jiffy Treat for some top-notch ice cream.  The next morning it was back to the pool and more ice cream before heading home.  Evangeline and Grandma took a little hike down to the creek to see the waterfall.  I decided to sit that one out, but they had a blast and Evangeline found a dandy of a walking stick, which was what she talked about wanting the whole time we were there. 

 

Evangeline sure did love the turtle in the lobby.  She watched him every chance she got.  

 

Here are some pictures Grandma took on their little hike.  

 

Home

Evangeline has new-found courage in the swimming department which has developed only since the family reunion in Nashville.  She was really getting brave and started putting her whole head under water in the hotel pool that weekend.  Since then, she's taken a week of swimming classes and has become an emergent doggy-paddler.  I am so amazed and proud of how far she has come in the past week!  She still has a ways to go, but just the fact that she is willing to give it a try without freaking out is huge!  She has become a little fish and is full of "mommy watch this" moments at the pool.  She has gotten really good and holding her breath for an extended period of time and swimming under water.  She prefers swimming under water to doggy paddling.  She also loves jumping off the side of the pool and doing tricks of the board with her Puddle-Jumper on.  

 

"Mommy, can you take a picture of me eating corn so I can put it in a memory book and one day when I have a baby I can show them this picture and tell them that this was the day I started liking corn?  The trick to get me to eat corn is by putting butter on it."

We've been having playdates here and there.  Gotta keep the girl socialized.  This is her friend Harper Richardson.  They're pictured singing Frozen on the karaoke machine.

 

I am coining the term "craft-nesting".  I'm getting a tad worried about all the projects I've told Evangeline I would get to for her this summer.  I know that once the stork drops off our little bundle of joy my moments at the sewing machine or spent with the knitting needles are few and far between.  So I'm putting the pedal to the metal. 

 

This fabric is called something like, Mother Goose and Friends.  This is not the dress I intended to make with this fabric, but desperate times call for desperate measures.  I decided to do one of my old stand-by patterns.  However, I did change it up a little this time...I made the liner longer than the top layer.  When it was finished Evangeline pointed out that it looks like a dress someone would have worn in the old days (big plus for her).  She also approved of the twirl factor.  I'm also thrilled that I finally remembered to sew a tag in this dress!  I always remember after it's too late.  These tags were my grandma Parson's tags. 

 

I'm sure I've said this before, but just I love making things for Evangeline.  It's so worth it.  She always tells me things like, "this is special to me because my mommy made it"....makes my heart smile.  She knows that the things I make her are stitched together with love.   

 

A Nice Day With Friends

Evangeline and I had breakfast in Peggy's backyard with Lucca while Peggy was out of town.  Lucca was glad for the company and I was happy to admire Peggy's beautiful flowers.  

 

 

Later that day we ventured over to Casey, IL to the world's largest wind chime café with some of my dearest friends, Colleen, Margaret, Ainslee, Mom and Evangeline.  Since the last time I was in Casey they've added the world's largest wooden shoes.  The shoes were still in the workshop and Evangeline got to climb into one of them to get a scraper for the workers.  This job may have made her the first little girl to be inside of the world's largest pair of wooden shoes...that sounds like some kind of record in itself.  

Waiting

I feel like we've hit the home stretch- over 35 weeks now.  Speaking of stretch...I'm not sure I can stretch any more!  I am carrying this little fella totally different than I carried Evangeline.  He is all out front, which makes it so uncomfortable to do a multitude of things.  I also feel that I've had many more aches and pains this time around.  Maybe I just can't remember because it's been so long ago since I was pregnant with Evangeline.  I've already gained over 40 pounds.  I think that's about what I gained with Evangeline.  It's much more than the doctor would have liked me to gain, but apparently I just gain a lot of weight when I'm pregnant.  I had my first appointment with my OB at Union today.  Up until now I've been seeing Dr. James, my family doctor, at the local medical center.   I feel like I've been pregnant forever.  Time was moving so slowly until now....now it's going at warp speed! 

 

It's hard to sleep.  I've invested in a special pillow which does help a little, but I think I'm past the point of a peaceful night of sleep no matter how comfortable.  Maybe my body is preparing me for the lack of sleep that's coming my way once the baby is here.....how considerate.  Being pregnant is such a blessing, gift and miracle, and I feel certain this is my last time to experience it.  I try my best not to gripe, take it for granted and to cherish this time, but boy oh boy, it's down-right uncomfortable. 

 

We have the baby's room all set up and ready to go.  My car is nice and clean and we have the new car seat.  The baby clothes are all washed and put away.  I've been doing lots of cleaning and organizing.  I'm sure I won't make it to 40 weeks, so it feels good to think I have a handle on things around the house. 

 

Evangeline and Kyle are both so excited for this baby to get here too.  Evangeline likes to talk about what she's going to teach him.  She wants to read him stories.  She likes to give my belly kisses every so often and say "hi" to the baby.  

 

I'm ready to have my lap back so I can hold my girl again. 

I've been so pleased to find that my knitting drive has returned.  I was worried that maybe I left it in Carbondale.  Lately it's all I've been doing anytime I'm sitting down.  The blanket is finished....

 

There's a sweater for the little guy.....

 

And a matching sweater dress for big sis in the works......

 

I could not resist the tiny pants.  They will be so practical...hand-wash only, white alpaca fiber.  

Evangeline made this the day before we found out the baby's gender.  She was sure of a boy, so she picked blue and green for this little rattle made of felt.  It was all her idea.  She cut out the two hearts, asked for 4 coffee beans to put inside, and sat on my lap as we sewed it up together.  He's going to love this special little rattle.