Thursday, July 17, 2008

Terrible Twos?

Not at our house. Its the terrible threes! Annie literally, over-night, and within a few days of turning three has been exhibiting some very strong behaviors like screaming "I WON'T take a nap!" or "I WON'T get dressed!" She can make quite a dramatic demonstration of her unwillingness to cooperate. But, she had a great time (and was reasonably behaved) for her b-day swim party at Ma B's house and her real b-day celebration in Lake Powell complete with cup cakes and fireworks. We were quite nervous about taking a 3 year old and a Harry (his age doesn't really matter) to Lake Powell for a week, but we had a blast (all the help from others helped!) Annie LOVED the water and would swim with her life jacket on for hours at a time. She had a great time trying to out swim Pat a/k/a "Monster" and would not leave Allie alone (she told Allie, "I love you so much!" and "you are pretty" so Allie couldn't say No to Annie's multiple requests to play, read, or swim). Harry stuck closer to shore but had some fun playing in the sand and learning to throw rocks in the water. Harry ate so much fruit I thought he was going to turn a different color - you could not stop him: grapes, kiwi, watermelon, berries, oranges, bananas, limes, cherries - it was crazy and made for lots of diaper changes. He also sounds like a little German - when you ask him questions, he shakes his head up and down and says "Ya, ya ya!" We can't wait for next year's trip!





Swim Lessons

Both kids recently finished their YMCA swim lessons. Harry loved the pool (and drinking gobs of water) - he was pretty good too: learning to kick and float on his back and tummy. Annie was less excited about the lessons part, but liked playing with the pool toys and loved being able to swim in the kiddy pool with the dragon slide after the lessons were over. Annie met a new little friend in swim lessons too -- Zach, who we hope to take lessons with again soon.
















Oma & Opa's Cabin






We spent a week-end recently up in Island Park, Idaho at the cabin where we canoed the river, rode the bikes, saw wildlife, and ate good food with good company. The highlights of the trip were: catching a frog -- Annie was so excited -- but maybe more excited to eat her strawberry ice cream clown that Oma made for her, and learning to play Opa's harmonica (which he let Annie keep). Now that she's a harmonica playing fool, Annie will also proudly tell you that the other person to play harmonica is "Bob Dylan."