day 9 of swim lessons

jack is getting more confident in the pool!!

look at him using his arms and legs!!

swim lesson treats

day 7 videos

i think he is doing great! can't wait to see how he does on the last day!

 at the end of week 1 of swim lessons we went and got a donut and went to the dollar store to let him get a few prizes!

 he picked a new water squirter (his other one broke), a safari hat, and a flute

 this is day 6. he decided that he was brave enough to sit on the stairs and make new friends and to jump off the side to the teacher

animals

 my boys!!

 jack wanted to eat the rainbow....so i made him a rainbow!

 today we went to see some animals with clara

 some sort of monkey..i can't remember the type. jack liked when it did flips and when it ate apples

 alligator...did you know that when you hold an alligator like this they don't move?

there was an african crow there too that jack thought was funny because it did a trick where it put garbage in a garbage can

 vulture

 porcupine...those needles are sharp!!

they also have a tail that rattles!

snake

jack was so cute because when he got a little nervous he would hide behind clara who loves all animals and reptiles

i saw clara sneak a few kisses on jack's cheek too!

day 3 of swim lessons

he did so good today! after i took this video he swam to the side of the pool by himself and pulled up! 

he didn't whine at all today. he still doesn't want to jump off the side to mrs. laura. he is holding his breath better and not getting choked up! this is only day 3...i can't wait to see how well he swims by day 10!

way to go jack!!

my "cry it out" experience

i was waiting to blog about this once charlie has slept through the night for atleast a week. well, he has done just that! we started on the 8th. 

night 1:

johnny went in there to put a pacie in his mouth, but it didn't work out that well because he thought that johnny was going to rescue him since he gets him out of the crib most mornings so that i could sleep a little more. but i thought that if i went in there that he would smell me and expect to eat. so night one was a failure!

night 2:

i went in at 11ish and put the pacie in. he slept until 1:30 and then cried off and on until 2:20. i went in after 2 minutes of crying, then 3 minutes, then 5 minutes, then 7 minutes, then 10 minutes. after that turn of going in he slept until 5:00. i nursed him then and he slept until 7:00

night 3:

went about the same way

night 4:

slept straight until 5:00

every other night has either been him waking up at 5:00 to nurse and going back down until 7:00 or sleeping straight until 7:00...either way i am ok with for now. i know that i will cut out the 5:00 feeding at some point too. he has had a cold so i am thinking that is why he woke up for a few nights in a row at 5:00. we'll see.

i am happy with how things turned out. it wasn't a terrible experience and i don't feel like he hates me for not feeding him or leaving him crying for a few minutes. it really had to be done! i needed a full night of sleep and he did too! he also needed to learn to put him back to sleep. 

he is nursing soooo much better during the day. i know that most people would think i am crazy for being excited about my almost 1 year old nursing better during the day since this is when most people want to wean their babies, but i want to wean him slowly and i think by taking away his night time feedings we are in the weaning process. he still nurses about 5 times a day, but now instead of nursing on one side he nurses on both. 

i am so proud of him for doing so well with crying it out and to be honest i am proud of myself for staying strong. it is hard to hear your baby cry and know that you could very easily do something about it and go back to sleep within 15 minutes. 

also, i am so glad he takes a pacie!! i know we will have a battle to face in a few years with that one, but for now i love it!!!

shoes, bieber, and day 2 of swim lessons

charlie already knows where shoes go...i put some of jack's old shoes on him yesterday and he didn't know exactly how he felt about it. i need to get him some soft robeez like shoes.

we watched justin bieber on the today show the other day and danced!

jack is doing better at swim lessons...and it is only day 2! he didn't cry today. he did whine when he had to get in the pool and would NOT jump off the side to the teacher. he ended up somewhat choking on his last turn and threw up on one of the chairs at the house we are at..i felt terrible about that. anyway, i was not expecting it because it didn't look like he was choking.

jack's first swim lesson

 the first time going under

( i was the only mom that had my camera out...is that weird?) 

he cried everytime he had to get in the pool. it was hard to force him to get in. i know it is good for him to learn and it will make me feel more comfortable when we are at pools. so that is why i kept forcing him to get in. he screamed when he was in the pool that he wanted to get out. by the end of the first day i noticed a difference in him. he still cried, but he held his breath better. 

he choked at some point on the water and when we went to sit down he said that he doesn't want to get back in because he is allergic to the water! :) haha! 

 he made a new friend, james. they stayed by each other the whole time and encouraged each other.

jack's reward for doing well his first day of swim lessons...a mustache, earring, an eye patch. he also got an airhead. i might have to make a trip to the $1 store tonight for more bribes and rewards!