Weekend Treats

Finally a Fence!

We finally got our fence approved by our HOA and it is finally installed!  I feel such a relief.  Ryan can freely run naked without me worrying about her and Ariel falling in the canal.  We can finally let the dogs out and not worry about them running off.  Murph has not attempted to jump over yet!

Emma can draw and eat sidewalk chalk all day now!

Swim Lessons - Week Two

Our second week of swim lessons was a success!  Both girls did great.  We did Humpty Dumpty and submerged both girls (Emma loved it, Ryan tolerated it).  Ryan preferred to do swim lessons with her Daddy or grandparent, so I had Emma all week.  Pa came with us on Wednesday since Chris was at work and witnessed Ryan falling into the pool!  She was dipping her Ariel doll in the pool before class started and I was busy chasing Emma.  She leaned a little too far over the edge and in she went! Mr. Clay was close by setting out noddles so he was able to quickly reach down and drag her out.  Not one cough or cry from Miss Ry Pie!  She was actually really proud of herself.  She kept saying "Pa, I went under and I held my breath up!"  She did great in her lessons and sat on the goodbye fish all week.  The hokey pokey and the pancake song were a hit with Pea Pie.  Mamaw joined us in the pool Friday for our last class.  It was a great year of lessons and I am glad we did it again. It was also really fun to have the Tharps join us this year.  Next year Ryan, Britton and Beckett will all be in the 3 year old class (where the parents don't get in).  I think Ryan will do better because a.) she will really be 3 (almost 4) years old and  b.) she will have her B boys with her!

Mamaw got some "action" shots this week!

The Tharps!

Ivie family swim lessons 2012!

SO adorable.
Ryan was so happy to have her Pa with her for lessons.

Letting Ry bring her Ariel ended up being a bad idea!

"I held my breath up!"
Right after she fell in.

Safe with Grandpa

Bath Time Tea With Murph

Bunny's First Transplant

Aunt Rocks performed the first of many transplants on bunny.

Emma jumped in the pool.
I had to jump in fully clothed to fish her out.

Not your typical chef, but your preferred swimmer

Emma is quite the water baby.  She wants in the pool with or without you or floats.  She is a serious swimmer and does not get out of the pool for much.  Food is one reason and the other reason is to "cook".  We have learned that when Emma needs to do #2 she gets out of the pool and heads to her outdoor kitchen.  I thought this was a coincidence the first few times it happened, but after 5 times I believe it to be intentional and I always check her diaper after her trip to the kitchen. We all appreciate the considerate chef that she is.  After she prepares her meal we head straight for the yard and the water hose to clean up and get a new swim diaper on!  Thank you Emma for filling your diaper out of the pool!

Daddy's Girl

Swim Lessons- Week 1

Week one of two of swim lessons is complete!  Whew! What a week!  This is Ryan's third year of lessons and Emma's first year.  I fibbed and said that Ry was turning 3 at the end of June, instead of the end of July so that she could do the next level class.  She has done the Mommy And Me class the past two years and I wanted to see how she would do getting in the pool without us.  She loved swimming last summer and I really thought she would be ready for the next level class. I made the wrong choice!  On the other hand, Miss Emma rocked the Mommy And Me class everyday.  She loved it just like Ryan did the past two years.  The Tharp boys also joined Emma in the Mommy And Me class this year!  Here is a quick review of our week.
Monday: Chris was at work and Mamaw helped me. I got in with Emma and Mamaw watched Ryan freak out when her teacher tried to get her to get in!  Ryan was so excited before it was time to get in.  Another little girl was screaming and freaking out and I think it spooked Ryan.  Mamaw ended up getting in and taking over with Emma and Ryan completed the second half of the baby class with me.
Tuesday: I got in with Emma. Chris tried to persuade Ryan to go with her class.  No luck.  He ended up getting in with her and joining the baby class after a lot of frustration.  Emma LOVED the Wheels on the Bus song/activity and Ryan was able to do some awesome airplane arms!  Chris went home after the lesson and mowed the lawn to blow off steam!
Wednesday: I got in with Emma and we worked on blowing bubbles and getting in and out of the pool safely.  Emma loved it all! Mr. Clay (Ryan's swim teacher the past two years) took Ryan and gave her a one on one lesson.  She did awesome with him!  No crying and lots of kicking and giggling.  I was so excited for her.  Chris didn't even have to get in. We thought we had a break through!
Thursday: Chris was at work and Emma had green snot and a low grade fever. Emma stayed with Mamaw and Pa and I took Ryan to swim lessons alone.  I was hoping for a repeat or better of Wednesdays class, I didn't even wear a swimsuit (jinx!).  Mr. Clay had told me that he would be available to help Ryan again.  Well, another teacher was sick so Mr. Clay had to fill in for that class.  Ryan sat by the edge of the pool and watched her class for the first 10 minutes, refusing my pleas to get in.  Then, Ms. Olivia came over and tried to get her to get in.  WOW!  What a fit she threw.  Poor Ms. Olivia got her in the pool, but not without a fight. I ran off to get out of sight in hopes that Ryan would calm down like she had for Mr. Clay.  It never happened. After 10 minutes sweet Ms. Olivia threw in the towel and handed Ryan off to me.  I didn't have a swimsuit on so we headed home. Chris and I decided that night that we would also throw in the towel on the 3 year old class and let our still 2 year old girl do the baby class one more year.  The last thing we want is to traumatize her and make her hate the pool (especially since I was forcing her into an advanced class early!)
Friday: Our girls both did fabulous! Lots of bubble blowing, ice cream scooping, airplane arms, kicking and giggling.  Emma is "a little fish" said Ms. Emma (the teacher). And, Ryan finally relaxed and enjoyed the whole lesson (minus the last 2 minutes when she refused to sit on the fish for her turn at the goodbye song).   

I think next week will be great.  I am hoping to get some pictures of the girls in action.  This week was trial and error and not a lot of time for pictures!

Pea ready for her first lesson!

Ry was so excited the first day. She couldn't wait to get in the pool!

Sitting on the fish before class.
The same fish she refuses to sit on for the goodbye song!

Posing and looking super cute before her class on Thursday!
Minutes later she was screaming and throwing herself on the ground.

"What do you mean I have to get in without bunny or Mommy???"

Thank goodness she is so cute!

Creepin'

And, the nighttime shenanigans continue.  Now, not only do we have to leave Ryan's door open at night, but she has decided this means she can come out!  Not cool! Especially, since she does it in a sneaky manner.  This is not fun to discover when you are home alone on C shifts!  It is very scary.  Ryan seems to think it is a hilarious game.  The first time she came a creepin' Chris was home (thank God).  We were in our room relaxing and watching t.v.  Our door was closed but not shut all of the way.  All of a sudden the door closed completely. Scared me to death! Chris, being the laid back guy that he is, immediately assured me that it was Ryan.  I didn't want to believe it.  I am not sure why I wanted to believe it was an intruder instead of Ryan.  Maybe I knew that once she discovered she could creep she would do it often! I made Chris go investigate and he found her hiding in the hallway.  Since then I have seen her peek her head out of her room while I watch t.v. in the living room.  I have come in from taking the dogs out at 9:30 p.m. and found her running out of my dark bathroom holding her Ariel bath doll (I screamed and almost wet my pants). She peaks into my room unanounced to see what I am doing and a lot of the time she decides it's time to play with all of her toys. Thankfully, she has not learned to unlock/open any of our doors to the outside.  I also think that most of the time she comes looking for us when she creeps.  I am not so much worried about her safety when she creeps at night but more about my chance of a heart attack (or wetting my pants) when I find her!

Swinging Sisters

Goose Egg

Emma took a spill out back and cracked her head on the corner of a brick.

Unfortunately, I was with her and did not prevent it.

On a happy note, I am very excited about our fence being installed next week!

She only cried for about 15 seconds.
I cried and felt nauseas for 15 minutes.

Hard headed Pea

This profile pic doesn't do this goose egg justice.
I took a bad angle, cause this thing stuck out there much farther!



Poor Pea

Sprinkler Park

I heard about a cool sprinkler park from some other local moms.  We looked it up on-line and discovered it is less than 3 miles away!  And, it is FREE!  Love that!  Chris and I took the girls during the week.  I LOVE our weekdays off together when we get to fo fun family activities.  We went from the sprinkler park to Mc D's to grab Happy Meals, then to the park by swim lessons for a picnic and more playtime, and ended the afternoon with swim lessons.  Now, that's a fun Tuesday!

Ryan, being the civil servant that she is, decided it was her duty to clean up
all of the popped balloons from the sprinkler park.

Emma, being the almost 17 month old that she is,
decided to eat the popped balloons she found.

She loved being in the mix with the older kids.

Most of my pictures show Ryan engrossed with her trash duties,
but she really liked the water too.  She kept screaming "more"
when one sprinkler would shut off and another one would start up.

Emma, watching the other sprinkler, unaware that where she is
standing is about to turn on!

She loved it!