Thankful Tuesday and Swimming Lessons

Andrew had his first swimming lesson of the season yesterday. Swimming was filled with lots of anxiety last year and lots of tears. I am praying this year is different. I think this kid has matured a lot in the past year. 

• Andrew can listen to an adult and deal with life when he isn't in charge... and not throw tantrums nearly as much because he isn't in charge. 
• He can be reasoned with and you can explain things to him rationally... and assuming he is being rational (and is not already in crisis mode), he'll listen.
• He is way more determined and stubborn and wants to be better than other people now :) We'll call that competitive... and the trait is helpful at swimming class. 

He was eager to get started with his lesson yesterday and knocked it out of the park. He dove for toys on the steps, reviewed strokes from last year, jumped into the pool and swam to the side, and floated on his back all by himself (a skill he refused to recognize he could do last year... and kept yelling, "I can't float" while he was floating and screaming... and this year he proudly acknowledged his accomplishment and thought he was sooo cool!).

here he is floating on his back... bad camera pic though

The 15 minute private lesson flew by and we spent all evening rewarding him for his incredible performance and attitude during his lesson! He also loves his new coach. I'm crossing my fingers we have a terrific summer! He is also very motivated because he wants to be a super star swimmer when we go to Maui soon.

We've got lessons MWF till we get close to our Hawaii trip, so hopefully he'll be ready!

And... just had to say I'm super thankful today... so I'm going to try and focus on the things I'm thankful for every Tuesday... or at least every Tuesday when I remember.

Here's this week's Thankful Tuesday Top 10 List:

1. Andrew's terrific swim lesson (above) and a fun afternoon yesterday with our neighbors!
2. Caitlin's adorable hugs and obsession with me... and that she calls Andrew, "Anrooo" :) (He thinks she says, "Paulo" and giggles every time she says his name)
3. My fun little jobs here, here, and here where I get to be creative, make some cookie $$, and meet cool people.
4. Baby #3- I feel very blessed. So far he/she has been growing happily, not bothering me too much, and is very excited to be here! 
5. Grilled cheese and fries- I've been loving them lately. I'll blame Baby #3. Last week I had an amazing dinner at The Counter in Palo Alto (with Jessie and the fam bam) and we've also been frequenting the In N Out drive thru at least once a week. Yum!
6. Insanely gorgeous weather and parks with water features- The kids jump in the jogger with snacks most days, I push them 15-20 minutes to the park (uphill today), we play in the water features, and then I push them home. I feel awesome and they have a blast and are exhausted and sleep or have quiet time for a long time afterwards.
7. Screen free week- We tried it last week. It worked better for the kids than for me. Today I tried to get them to watch a show so that I could get something done and Andrew turned it off and wanted to play. I think we'll keep the screen free run going (other than long drives in the car). I also got tons of areas in my house organized when I was having screen free time during naptime. I need to do that more often.
8. Chocolate ice cream with crushed oreos, M&Ms, and mini chocolate chips- I love it. I think about my bowl of ice cream all day long... and then I get busy at night time and forget to make it for myself. So then I only get to eat it every other night or so... so then sometimes I have to eat double :)
9. Running buddies- I try to go running 2-3 times a week at 6:30am with some friends. It is awesome. I wish I didn't stay up so late some nights or else I would go more often.
10. My bed and sleep- I love it and also dream about it all day. Last week I fell asleep on the floor of my carpeted bathroom while I was organizing closets. I was so sad I missed the chance to be in my cozy bed. I would take a nap there every afternoon if I could... but for now I only do it maybe 2-3 times a week. 

Nothing overly noteworthy or amazing, but these are the things I am grateful for this week. 

Happy Tuesday!