summer catch-up~ part 1

yes, as promised, i'm back for a wee while to "catch-up" a bit.  someday my littlest boy is going to sit and read this (oh yesss he better) and i fear he'll wonder just what happened during the summer of 2011.  it was such a whirlwind that i've needed the past month to regroup! 
July included swimming lessons for two weeks and the first ever cottage trip for AJ.  swimming lessons were a hoot.  AJ definitely mastered "the bob", and was pretty fearless overall.  you'd think in the Salamander level he'd be an easy pass.  after all, he loved going under and didn't think twice about full face and head submersion.  the problem was, he spent so much time under water that i think he missed some of the basic instructions on all the other "requirements" to conquering Salamander.  apparently his "cute factor" and permanent grin (with dimples) didn't cut it either.  ahem.....but hey, who needs a certificate anyway.  a few more weeks in the VanderSlagt pool and AJ was showing great progress on his kicking and underwater swimming.  and lo and behold, by summer's end he was swimming completely on his own, without the aid of any flotation devices!  check out the video proof below.  one of these times i'll remember to stop talking while recording to avoid the highly annoying commentary, but suffer through it to see my dear son and his obvious love of swimming! 

pretty impressive, if i do say so myself!  next year we're on to Sunfish~ and he'll show those instructors what he's made of!!! :)
the day after swimming lessons were completed we were off on our annual trip to Bala for some cottage country enjoyment.  AJ was right into it.  tubing, cousins, Aunt Beth and Uncle Joe, Grandma Mary, Grandpa Joe, swimming, turtles, sand play, boat rides, ski shows, paddle boats, knee boarding (with Joelle), and yummy cottage meals...what's not to love for a three year old??

above, two brothers watching the skiers, in awe....(must have been cool cousin Luke barefooting...yep, he did)

first boat ride ever~ doesn't the smile say it all??

tubing, with apprehension at first, which quickly disappeared as he started giving hand signals shortly after.  a three year old telling us to hit rollers and go faster, even though he had no clue what he was asking for! guess it seemed like the thing to do...

front row seats at the ski show.

nothing to do with AJ, but seriously, doesn't this dock spider induce instant terror??  yah, me too...

it really was so special to finally have AJ there with us.  the previous year in Bala we had just received our referral, and his picture came along with us as we dreamed of the day he'd be there in the flesh.  well, 2011 was the year, and it felt sooo right...well, right until our tire blew on highway 400 the day we returned home.  that didn't feel so right, but thankfully my quick identification of the problem (translation~ me in a raised voice saying "that's not the muffler Jeff, that's our tire, that's our tire, that's our TIRE", as i watched the smoke and flapping rubber in the side mirror while listening to the grating noise of our van (loaded with eight well fed people and pulling a trailer loaded with our stuff ) riding on just the wheel rim.  yah, that was fun...thankfully, all were safe and we were fixed up and back on the road again in a reasonable amount of time.  but enough about our treasured van....

August and September also included some special memories worth noting, but it will have to wait until another day.  i'm easing back into this blog thing slowly, remember? :)  see you soon!