Swim Lessons and Astronauts

On Monday, we were slow getting out of the house. I'd been up all night working on finalizing some online appendices that are referenced in my recently published book. Jeff took care of Baby A when she woke up in the middle of the night. In the morning, all three kids needed baths or showers. Mondays are Baby A's visitation sessions with bio mom, so we make sure that she's had a bath in the morning. Henry and Miss R were in need of showers, which they didn't get the night before b/c we were at my parents' house for dinner. Henry and Miss R were super slow at their respective showers. Miss R was a bit poky about washing her hair. Once she was out of the shower, it took awhile to wrangle Henry into the shower, which he then didn't want to leave. They didn't make it easy when it came to getting them into daycare either. Mondays are tough. Three kids, a huge bag filled with their cot sheets, crib sheets, and blankets for naps, Baby A's bottles, a bag of things to accompany Baby A on her afternoon CPS visit, plus the infamous CPS car seat. Henry and Miss R refused to go out the free side door and instead insisted on going out the side door blocked by Baby A's usual car seat. Ugh.

In the afternoon, Jeff took The Twins to their swim lessons. Today was the start of the new session. Miss R is in the Flounder class, and Henry is in the Pollywog class. Jeff reported that Miss R is the only one in her class, so she basically has private lessons. All in all, she did really well. She even went underwater and didn't cry. She later told me that she blew bubbles out of her nose. Her one hang-up is touching the side of the pool. For some reason, the idea of hanging on the pool wall freaks her out. Henry is in a class with two other kids who are brothers (one is 3.5 years old and the other is 5). It was their first time taking swim lessons. Although Henry was admonished on several occasions, the 3.5 year old was admonished even more than Henry and was told to sit out of the pool after not listening (which happened to Henry last session). Jeff was happy that "Henry" was the most used word of the class. He suspects that Henry and the 3.5 year old will become friends. They got into trouble together at one point, sneaking off to the side to get pool toys while the instructor worked with the 5 year old. I stayed at home b/c that's where CPS drops off Baby A after the visitation.

After their swim lessons, Jeff took them to Sunflower. Henry dropped a jar of hummus on the floor, which made a mess. Jeff said that the staff was very nice about it. Then, Jeff took the kids to the fruit section. Henry picked out a red apple, which he dubbed "the poison apple!" He hasn't seen Snow White in a long time, but seems to remember the most vivid parts of it.

Henry ate fairly well at dinner. He at least tried carrot sticks (thin ones) dipped in ranch. He had a peanut butter and jelly bagel upon request. He also ate several grapes and a pickle. Then, he wanted his Panda Bear cereal. Miss R was cute, but not the most efficient of eaters this evening. I took Baby A on a dog walk so that she could see her favorite neighbor Hal and coo at him, which she did. When I returned, Henry was listening to his Toy Story book on CD. Miss R was playing with dinosaurs.

I put Baby A to bed. Jeff had the toddlers brush their teeth, and then tucked them in and read them a story. Henry visited me after Jeff left them, claiming that he wanted cold water with lemon (can't forget the lemon). He had a few sips and then marched back to bed.

Jeff and I talked after the kids were asleep. He really likes Henry's new class. The new class has a definite curriculum. This week, it is a space theme. Henry told Jeff about astronauts. We think that he really likes being exposed to new ideas. When I dropped him off this morning, the class was around the teacher who was reading them a book. Henry was absorbed. I took Miss R to class and then passed Henry's class again and he really has fabulous concentration (when he wants to, that is).