Fun in the Sun

Yesterday Evan invited his friend Nora over, and we headed to the pool for the afternoon. Nora and Evan have been friends literally since birth. They went all through daycare and preschool together, and now up through 4th grade. Nora was my flower girl, and I had the honor of teaching her in 1st grade. She has been a part of our lives as long as Evo has, so we love her lots. Unfortunately, she lives in Bellevue, and it is a bit of a production to get together, so we only manage a couple of playdates during the summer, but they both love and look forward to them. Nora and Evan have planned on getting married since they were about 3. It amazes Nora's mom and I that this never changes, no matter how old they get. Once in awhile we will catch them planning things like what kind of dog they will get, or how many kids to have. Nora's mom and I are always taking pictures and then saying, "Won't this one look good at their wedding reception?"

Anyway, I digress. We went to the pool at Lifetime yesterday for about 4 hours. Evan and Nora went down the water slides so many times, I thought maybe they were going to get a little motion sick. We splashed, we talked, we played, we ate dinner at the poolside cafe. I think I had as much fun as the kids. Jeff came home early from work to look after the toddlers so we could have as much time as we wanted. What a super afternoon.

In other news, Sammy has shed a lot of his "babyness" this week. Sniff sniff. All of a sudden, about 4 days ago, he started talking in full sentences. His vocabulary is exploding, and he can have a simple conversation with me. He has slept for two whole nights in his big boy bed. This morning when I went in to get them up he said, "Sammy stay in the bed Mom!" I guess he took our lecture to heart the night before (a kid that listens to me-Finally!!). We talked for a long time about staying in bed and being quiet. Naptime went better yesterday than it has in forever. Maybe this was just the change we didn't know we needed. He's also started sitting for long periods to read a book, or snuggle with Mom. It makes me happy to see him growing up, but it makes me sad too. Jeff is going to take down the crib today. This is heartwrenching for me. It is the first time in three years our house won't have a crib in it, and when it is the last one moving out of the crib, it's hard. I won't ever lay one of my babies down in a crib again. Sigh. Completely bittersweet. Things are always harder with the youngest.

I finally convinced Recycle Bank to let me use their service without getting the Elkhorn Sanitation trash service, so we were so excited to get our container yesterday. Sadly, it's already half full! I cam't wait to cash in on some rewards!