Swimming Lessons!

This week, Hunter started swim lessons at the Monterey Sports Center. While we have done mommy & me type lessons before, these lessons are sans parents - a whole new territory!

While it was insanely nerve wracking to watch someone else handle Hunter in the water (along with 3 other 4 year olds!) I think it is awesome for Hunter to have an athletic activity that doesn't have much to do with his leg. Hunter loved each and every second, and can't wait to go back for more! Swim time is my new favorite time of the week, as it is so much fun to sit up in the bleachers and just observe the joy in Hunter's face as he experiences new adventures!

Sorry for the poor picture quality, the indoor pool doesn't photograph well! Hunter is all the way on the left, in the red trunks:

I was nervous for Hunter as they were taken around on the floaty, but then the floaty turned and I saw his face :o)

Preschool-powered floaty:

Feeling like superman after his first big-kid swim lesson!

Shamrock Shakes

After a busy couple of days spent checking more things off of the pre-baby to-do list, we capped off the weekend by testing out a recipe I found for homemade shamrock shakes! We felt pretty jipped in the shamrock shake department this year, as only ONE McDonald's in our area carried them, and only for two weeks... While browsing blogs one day, I found a recipe for a homemade version, and Justin and I both agreed that it is unlikely we will ever pay for a McDonald's shamrock shake again - these were amazing!

The Recipe is as follows:

1 Cup Vanilla Ice Cream

1/2 Cup Milk

1/4 tsp mint extract

4 drops green food coloring

- mix all ingredients in a blender, enjoy! (recipe makes one shake)

Hunter's favorite part - the button!!

Cheers!

A Satisfied Customer :o)

The Nesting Instinct

The nesting instinct is described as

an uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world.

I am experiencing this primal instinct big time. Add my label maker and you've got yourself a party! Today Hunter and I tackled the play room. We dumped out every single bin and went through each and every matchbox car, army guy, and happy meal toy, deciding which to keep, and which to give away to other kids. He did a great job, and was a huge help with putting toys back in appropriate categories. After we found a home for everything, we brought out the big guns:

Hunter and I had a great system going, where I would print out a label, and he would read it and place it in the correct spot (hey, organizing and reading lesson all in one!)

Onto a vocabulary lesson - the 'Armory' bin contains his nerf pistols, bullets, and some other nerf ammo:

Every once in awhile Hunter will do something that screams either 'Little Justin' or 'Little Nickie' - I think this picture speaks for itself :o)

Now before you go calling DCFS on me for torturing my poor child, Hunter really did have a good time! Sometimes when he gets very particular and it is clear he has picked up on some of my OCD tendencies, it is very frustrating, and I even feel guilty about it. Other times, I am really grateful that this adorable little buddy of mine likes to organize as much as I do :o)

And please, pray for Justin - as we are moving on to the garage tomorrow...