Owen Conquers the Neighborhood Waterslide

Owen takes a swim! August 25, 2014

I have been super strict with Owen about wearing his puddle jumper at all times this Summer.  I am a nervous Nelly around the water, so I didn't want to even try to let him swim.  He's only three, for goodness sake!

On August 25th, Leah and I took the kids to the pool for the last time.  Leah encouraged me to see what O would do without his puddle jumper on.  I knew it would likely be the last swim of the season, so I figured that there wasn't much harm in trying.  It's not like I would have to fight with him about wearing his puddle jumper for many more swims.  So, we went for it!

That boy took off!  He did so good!  Leah grabbed a quick video of him swimming like a fish.  It looks like I may have three independent swimmers next Summer.  Whoa!!!

Stayin' Cool in the Pool

I took all three boys to the pool last week and we had THE BEST time!  They all did so well - Owen was perfectly content in his float the entire time, Drew stayed close to me and was sweet as pie, and Clayton was super helpful with his little brothers.  We stayed for 3 whole hours!  It was the perfect pool day.  :)

I know that we are in for lots of not-so-perfect pool days this summer.  I'm certain that O will grow to hate his float, Drew will get braver and make me a nervous wreck, and Clayton will want to be off doing his own thing instead of entertaining his brothers.  So... I felt the need to properly document the perfect pool day.  :)

Two years ago, I bought a refurbished underwater camera for cheap and it has turned out to be a great investment!  (THIS is a similar one.)  We have submerged it a hundred times and it has done really well.  It takes pretty decent pictures, too.  :)

This boy is part fish - I swear he is!  ;)

Clayton asked to borrow the camera for a bit and promised to be super careful.  He came back with some lovely pictures, as you can imagine.  I especially loved his self portraits.  Ha!

An underwater view of the Nanny McPhee mouth.  ;)  I kinda miss that crazy tooth...

I have no words...

This is so typical for the Carpenter clan - Clayton being a goof ball, Drew looking on and making mental notes about how to copy what his big bro is doing, and Owen just trying to stay afloat.  Ha!

Hoping for many more fun memories at the pool during Summer 2012!!!

Bloggy Randomness

I don't feel like I have many big things to blog about these days. We are pretty much just hanging out at home. I'm a homebody by nature, so that has been a-okay with me. :) I don't have any big things to blog about, so I thought that I would just do a random things post.

* I love this picture. I love that little froggy on my little baby's bottom. I love that my biggest boy loves my baby boy so much that his whole face just lights up. Just love it.
* Being at home so much has really brought out Clayton's creativity. He came downstairs the other day and asked me to come up and see his "grocery store." I thought that it was a pretty smart setup.
He demonstrated his conveyor belt thingy for me. He put it at an angle so that he could use gravity to make the "groceries" slide down. He got my grocery bag holder out of the pantry to bag groceries. I asked about the remote control on the table. He said, "That is where people put in their number for their debit card." Ha!

* Have y'all heard of this True Lemon stuff?

It is really good! It has no sugar, no calories, and is 100% natural. I have been drinking a TON of water and this has been a yummy addition to my regular H2O.

* I feel like I need to properly document a BIG milestone in my life as the mother of 3 children. Last Friday (6/23), I made my first solo trip to the grocery store with all 3 monkeys. That's a big deal, y'all!

I had quite a list, so I was pretty worried. It actually went pretty well, though. I had done some strategizing beforehand in my mind and determined that Drew would ride in the car part of the basket, Owen would ride in his stroller, Clayton would push the stroller, and I would push the massive cart. Oh my, we were a sight!
Clayton is wearing an American Airlines pilot's hat that he got in the airport giftshop when he was 4. I used to care about that sort of thing, but now I just go with it. Three boys has really mellowed me out. Ha!

* Wade was out of town last week and so was Leah. I have determined that, for the sake of my sanity, my husband and my best friend are not allowed to be out of town at the same time ever again. ;)

Having my two right hand people gone did make me step out of my comfort zone. I tackled another big mom of 3 hurdle and took all my monkeys to the pool one evening. Drew did great in his puddle jumper. Those things are the best! Why didn't they have those when Clayton was a toddler???
I sat in the shade with my littlest fella and watched the big boys. O slept through our entire adventure. Sweet boy...
* Speaking of swimming, Drew been much more cautious in the water than Clayton was at 2.5. Granted, we have only been swimming a handful of times so far this summer. Every time Drew has been content to splash around in his puddle jumper, but declines our numerous offers to jump off of the side. On Friday night, however, that all changed. Our neighbors invited us over for some swim time. By the end of the evening, Drew was jumping off of the side like a pro! Look at him go...

* Owen Thomas, one day when you are a big huge 6 foot tall man, I want you to know that there was a time when your entire thigh fit between my thumb and middle finger.

I'm so ready to get some rolls on those legs! It won't be long, I bet.

* Yesterday in the car, I pointed out to Wade that our kid's first initials are OCD. His reply - "I'd say there is some irony in that." Whatever do you think he meant by that??? ;)

* It took me 3 days to compose this post. I swear... Downtime comes and goes in 5 minute intervals around here. This is a busy season of life, for sure, but I a definitely enjoying life with my 3 sons. :)

Grandparents are the Best!

We have spent the last two weekends making quick trips to visit each of our parents. We spent July 4th (and 5th) with Wade's parents, and then we went to Houston this past Saturday & Sunday to see my Mom & Dad. We crammed a whole lot of fun into each of those overnight visits!

I love watching my kids with their grandparents! Both of my grandfathers passed away before I was born, and my grandmothers went to Heaven when I was ages 4 & 13. So, I know all too well what a treasure grandparents are! I hold my few memories of my grandmothers close to my heart and will always wish that I had had just a little bit more time with them. I feel so blessed that my kids have 4 wonderful grandparents and 3 great grandparents (who are also amazing!). I will never stop telling them how lucky they are!

We celebrated the 4th in East Texas. Wade's parents live on the 18th hole of a golf course and it is so beautiful in their neck of the {Piney} woods. Wade (a.k.a. "fun Dad" - my nickname for him) stopped along the way and bought some smoke bombs, a cone fountain, and some HUGE sparklers. They were a big hit!

Drew spent some time swinging and rocking with his Grammie. :)

Wade & Papaw took Clayton out to practice with his new golf clubs. Male bonding at it's finest... ;)

This past weekend we went to Houston for my nephew, A's, birthday party. He turns 7 on the 20th. Becca & Jeff threw him a really fun Spiderman party. I got some really cute pictures of A, but I'm still not at liberty to post them. :( Hopefully, A & J's adoptions will be final in the fall and then I will have GOBS of pictures of their sweet faces to post. Thanks to everyone who has asked about them lately. You all are so sweet to care about our family! Their adoption has been a long process, but it seems that Becca & Jeff will be through all of the red tape in the next few months. Please keep them in your prayers!

My parents got a chance spend lots of time with the boys while we were there. Clayton & Drew just ate up all of the attention. :)

Drew & Gran

Papa D & Gran with Drew

Drew was a big fan of the birthday cake. Ha ha!

Drew is a bruiser, for sure! He LOVES to wrestle in the floor. If you are laying in the floor, then he considers you fair game. He will just run up and tackle you out of nowhere. Well... my Dad got a taste of our little linebacker's rough housing ways. I'm pretty sure that being the father of 2 girls didn't prepare him for the tackling that he was in for!

We got in some swim time yesterday afternoon before we headed home. Wade "launched" Clayton and J about 146 times each. :) They both loved it! They made the funniest faces and poses as Wade tossed him in the water.

Drew was content just relaxing by the side. Next year, I have no doubt that he will be smack dab in the middle of the launching action. ;)

Thanks Marsha & Terry and Mom & Dad for loving on our kids! We are soooo thankful for all 4 of you!

One Fish, Two Fish, Clayton Fish, Drew Fish

My sweet niece, Makinley, turns 9 years old this week. It doesn't seem like she should be that old, but I guess that she is. :) Yesterday she had her birthday party at the natatorium, and we had a great time celebrating Miss Mak. An indoor heated pool was a great break from the cold, dreary, rainy weekend.

We brought Drew's suit, but I wasn't sure how he would do if he got in the pool. I'm proud to say that he LOVED it! Seeing him loving the water made me so excited about this summer. I envision us clocking LOTS of pool hours. Yay!

For the first few minutes he was hesitant. He hung onto his Daddy for dear life!

Then he decided that he liked it.
(He is cutting his bottom molars, so his hands are in his mouth all. the. time.)

Wade blew in his face...

then dunked him underwater. He came up smiling. :)

Then he splashed, and splashed, and splashed some more.

He did some back floating...

and by the end of the party, he was jumping off of the side.



The birthday girl was sweet to take time away from
her other party guests and play with her little cousin.
(Can you see the family resemblance???)


Of course, our eldest was in his element, too!
I barely got him to stand still for one picture.

You throw a great party, Mak! Thanks for letting us celebrate with you!