Swimming Lessons

A few months ago, I was pushing Charley up at the swings.  Other parents were talking around us and when the topic of swimming lessons came up, my ears perked!  I overheard one dad saying he was taking his little girl to Brendan Sweetman Swimmers, and when the other lady replied, “oh, that’s the good one,” I couldn’t get home fast enough to Google it!  After calling and asking a hundred different questions, I signed Miss Priss up for lessons.  The lessons were from 3-4, Monday through Friday during the second week of July.  Gramma was able to go with me the first three days, and Daddy went with me on the last day!  Even though the teaching method was quite different than how I learned at the Red Cross, I am a firm believer in the process and will be signing Charley up for two weeks next summer!  They basically combine survival techniques with learning how to swim.  By the last day, they threw Charley into the water and she managed to turn over to her back and float...five times!  All the instructors and other mommies cheered along with us...since we were outside of the gate, Miss Priss could hear them better!!!

3 Fun Facts about swimming lessons:

1.  I was so excited for Charley to be able to wear all of her swimsuits, or so I thought, because on the last day I noticed she had 6 instead of 5!!!

2. Charley crossed her ankles every time she floated on her back...just like a little priss!

3. I have no clue how the instructors got her to sit on the side of the pool with the other kids and when she had to wait her turn...they must have secret powers!

Happy 4th of July

Even though there is no question how we celebrate the 4th of July, this year’s fish fry at Granddaddy Charlie’s house was a little different for two reasons: 1. It was the hottest 4th EVER! 2. Diana and Ron Underhill got to come for the first time since they sold Belew’s earlier in the year!  The food was fabulous, like always, and we counted 43 as the grand total of people who were able to attend! 

2nd Annual Cousin’s Picture (Kobey and Laney are precious...Charley is filthy...and precious!!!)

Kobey kept telling us where to sit and who was allowed to be in the picture, so we nicknamed him “Olan” for the day! 

A little pirate action...ARGH!!! 

Workin’ in the Garden

One of Granddaddy Charlie’s favorite things to do is work in his garden, which works out great for us, because we love eating all the yummy vegetables that it produces each year.  I always knew that he and Granny put in lots of hard work...but I don’t think I realized how much work it actually took until this year when I started helping!  Gramma and I helped put cages on 100 tomato plants, we did corn, dug potatoes, picked tomatoes, made and canned tomato juice and salsa.  Craig and Granddad helped too, which was a new experience for Craig.  He may not be the quickest at silking corn or cutting tomatoes, but he is definitely the most particular and gets an “A” for effort!  Needless to say, we are all allowed to eat this year since we earned our keep!  Charley was a big help, too!  She put the cleaned ears of corn in buckets, nibbled on the corn, picked up the dug potatoes, and handed us tomatoes when we needed them.  I doubt we could would have been so productive without her help!  :)  
  

15 Months

We may not be doing monthly photo shoots anymore, but 15 months is a good time to catch up on all the latest changes with Miss Priss.  Since making a list is one of my favorite things, I think it’s only appropriate to sum up these past three months with a list!

Height: 30 ¼ inches (40%)

Weight: 23 lbs 2 oz (80%)

Teeth: 10 (at 15 month check-up)

Words: “Momma”, “Dadda”, “Gramma”, “Granddad”, “Justin”, “Papa”, “da” (dog), “sh’s” (shoes), “ball”, “baby”, “night-night”, “hi”, “hello”, “no-no”, “bye”, “Donald Duck"

Clothing Size: 18 Months

Favorite Foods: biscuit (Chick-fil-a, to be exact), black beans, cheese, Ritz crackers, strawberries, ham, ketchup, chicken strips…anything sweet. 

Drinks: whole milk, water…and all of our fountain drinks whenever she manages to get a hold of a straw!

Sleeping: Bedtime is between 7:00 and 8:00 and she wakes up at completely random times!  She takes between 1-2 naps each day…but always sleeps with her cat!

Favorite TV show: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Tricks: runs, rides Whoa! Boy, shakes her fist, points out several body parts, and names all of us in pictures!

Favorite Person: Gramma

Favorite Restaurants: anything from Chuy’s and Olive Garden (I wonder why?)

Buddies: Harper, Keyton, Sam, Parker, Lily, Hadlee, Hunter, Logan, Alec, Kobey and Laney

Favorite Animal: dog (just about every animal is a “da”)

Favorite Toys: purses, bracelets, sunglasses, Cozy Coupe car, Whoa! Boy, books, empty tubes of lipstick, baby dolls, balls…and anything she can use to make a mess!

Here are some iPhone pics taken between 12 and 15 months!