Poor Parenting? Perhaps.

With summer's end quickly approaching, the Barnetts are spending as much time at the pool these days as possible. While we do enjoy the pools in the subdivision and the super short drive to get there, there is really nothing better than a morning and lunch at Aunt Brencie and Papa Dick's pool, gardens and patio. We are so fortunate to have access to such posh amenities and I love that my kids get to grow up swimming in the same pool where I learned to swim.

Our mornings at Brencie and Dick's usually means that Gage must miss his morning nap. We've tried putting him down for a nap in his Pack -n- Play, but there's no way he'll stand for that. He must be in the pool! He loves his float and usually coos, kicks, splashes and plays while we all swim and dive and chit chat around him. Yesterday, however, before we knew it, Gage was asleep in his float.


Normally this wouldn't be a problem, however, the timing wasn't ideal. We were all about to get out of the pool and have our lunch in the cool shade of the muscadines. Do we pick him up out of the float and risk waking the perfectly content sleeping baby? Never!

What is it they say about necessity being the mother of invention?


Yes...that is a rake holding the raft in place so we would all have a clear view of Gage while we prepared and ate our lunch. Before you all start emailing me and bashing my parenting skills, Gage was perfectly safe...we were very close...4 adults watching...he was in the shade...and he woke up before we even started eating and spent the remainder of lunch on one of our laps.

Savannah is really turning into a little fish these days. She is jumping off the diving board and swimming to the ladder all by herself.

Motivation

Wikipedia definition: Motivation is the internal condition that activates behavior and gives it direction; energizes and directs goal-oriented behavior.

For at least the last 6 months, mornings from Monday through Friday consist of whining, crying, fits, temper tantrums, "No!"s, "umph"s, kicking, screaming, hiding under the covers, demands and anything short of spitting and biting. Did I mention we have a 3-year old? A wise person once told me that Threes are the Terrible Twos with an attitude. Mornings are dreaded in our house...and it's not my alarm clock that goes off at 5:30 am...in fact, I cherish that quiet time to myself between 5:30 and 6:15 when I get to shower and primp without interruption. But boy, when 6:15 rolls around, Hell breaks loose in our house. The daily grind is simple really: milk, potty, brush teeth, dress, hair and out the door. All can really be done in 20 minutes tops, but in our house, this routine can take upwards of 45 minutes to an hour...throw in a "time-out" and you see where I'm going with this.

My eyes were opened this past weekend to a truly amazing phenomenon...motivation. I think I finally learned what motivates my 3-year old...and I bet you all want to know the secret to my success. It's quite simple really. Three-year olds apparently like to win. We first tested this with eating green veggies. Now Savannah has always been a good eater, but as of late, she tends to turn her nose to the green veggies...they are not her "favorite". But if Stephen or I picks up a green veggie and challenges her to a race, she's very eager to shove green veggies down her throat as quickly as possible to "beat" us. Not sure why it took so long to sink into my thick skull to apply this concept to mornings, but this morning, I challenged Savannah to "beat Daddy". While Stephen showered, Savannah was to go potty and brush her teeth before Daddy could finish his shower...and was she ever up for the challenge! She finished her business, brushed her teeth and beat Daddy getting dressed. She was even eager to get her hair brushed and styled so that she could "beat Mommy" getting ready. Savannah was out of bed and ready to walk out the door in 20 minutes. She even got to "wake up Baby Gage" and kiss him good-bye. It's funny...as I type this, and without even knowing what I was doing, Stephen came in and said that Savannah commented on the way to school this morning, "Daddy, I didn't cry." So she KNOWS when things go smoothly and she's proud of herself when they do. So why the drama??? We're going to give this a try again tomorrow. Wish me luck!

We got to play outside a lot tonight with Sophie. The weather was actually pretty nice for August. And the sky looked really cool!


And I had to re-create Stephen's picture of Gage on the trike (Stephen posted his iPhone version on Facebook)...

Just a picture

Just posting a new picture of Gage. Stephen and Savannah ran some errands this morning and Gage and I rotated his clothes...finally packed away all his newborn-6 month clothes. This is a chore I dread and put off more than anything else. But it's done...woohoo!

Hot Wheels

Savannah got a new trike...and she loves it! She had a tricycle, but it was no fun. I think she was always too big for it. Sophie had this Schwinn trike (long before she could ride...like most things we get our children I guess). Savannah was pretty good at riding Sophie's so we found one for Savannah. Now the girls like to ride up the sidewalk to the Elko's driveway and then pedal as fast as they can back down the hill to the cul-de-sac.


Gage is doing great. He'll be 8 months old on Monday. He's getting bigger, er, well, longer I should say. He's very lean.

Summer Lovin'

Man, it gets harder and harder to come up with titles of these posts...especially when all you want to do is post a few pictures for the family. "Summer Lovin'" works.

We've had a fabulous summer so far! I finally signed Savannah up for actual swim lessons with Miss Michelle. Until now, I've been taking her to Aunt Brencie's for her "lessons" with me while Bren coaches me on what to do with Savannah and how to teach her. It's NOT EASY to teach your own child to swim! So I'm outsourcing! But I don't feel too bad about it. Bren says that even she could not teach her own children to swim. Savannah had her first lesson last night and I could already see the pieces starting to click together for her. We have 3 more lessons to go and Brencie and Michelle are confident 4 is all we'll need this year.

Recently our friends, the Joachims, came to enjoy the neighborhood pool with us. Last year at Savannah's birthday party which we held at the clubhouse, Lauren's boys spotted the water slide at our pool and were upset when they couldn't stay to swim and go down the slide after the party. I didn't get any great shots of the boys, but here is Savannah making her one and only solo run.


Big G was there to catch her, and can't you just read the misery all over her face???


Since last Friday was a holiday, both kiddos were at home with us. Savannah has been such a helper. Here she is giving Gage his bottle. This was not just a few moments for me to snap a quick picture. She fed him his entire bottle and took her job very seriously.

She loves her Baby Gage.


Saturday was the 4th of July. We started with a morning swim at Aunt Brencie's house with the hopes of wearing Savannah out enough to take a nap before the evening festivities. I'm happy to report that she napped! Later we trekked up the hill to the King's for good times with the best neighbors, delicious food and plenty of Guitar Hero to boot. Many thanks to Nana for holding down the fort while Gage and Savannah slept and Stephen and I got to hang out later with everyone.

Yeah, Gage is donning his cammo.

Catchin' Up

So much catching up to do! While I realize that many readers of this blog also read Savannah's Friends' blogs too, I still like to post pictures you may have already seen. As I've stated before, I hope to one day print this blog and make a book out of it to have for the kiddos later on.

We bought Savannah this pink car when she was about 9 months old. It has been one of those purchases that has been so worth it. Savannah used this pink car a lot over the years and although she's pretty much outgrown it now, she does enjoy a stroll around the cul-de-sac every now and again. For the last 3 years, Sophie's mommy and I have taken this picture of Savannah and Sophie in their matching pink cars. This is likely the last year we'll be taking this photo...so here are the last 3 years.


Last Saturday we celebrated Savannah's 3rd birthday with a HUGE party at Kangazoom. Savannah invited all her friends in the subdivision (which is enough to populate the class of 2024) plus her entire class at school and then some of mine and Stephen's friends' children as well who have become friends with Savannah over the years. Thankfully my parents were in town and helped entertain Gage during the party. Here is Savannah leading the parade to her party room.


The cake...of course Savannah would have nothing to do with it.


But she did blow out her candles like a champ.


After the party, we headed over to Brencie and Dick's house for another huge party. This one was to celebrate Father's Day and Brencie and Dick's 47th wedding anniversary! The gang...


Everyone enjoyed the pool. I don't remember seeing so many people in Brencie's pool since I was a kid. It was reminiscent of the days when all my aunts and uncles were the adults in the pool and me, Melanie, Siri, Victor, Michelle, Jennifer, Piper and Beau were the kiddos...how things have changed!

Here's my beautiful niece...

She befriended watermelon too...


Tuesday was Savannah's actual birthday. We were very excited because her birthday present arrived in time to surprise her Tuesday night after school...a sandbox! Today we actually purchased the $6 pool from ToysRUs...it's just like being at the beach! Well, sort of :)


Wednesday night, we celebrated Savannah and Sophie's birthdays at our house. We built our own pizzas! The girls seemed to enjoy it. They both donned their ballerina leotards and tutus...they were really cute.

Finally, a post wouldn't be complete without some pictures of Gage. He is so fond of Savannah...


...and I think she kinda digs him too!

Happy Birthday, Pea!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Savannah Kate! Your happiness amazes me! I hope that you are truly as happy on the inside as you portray on the outside. Your laugh is infectious. You are inquisitive, friendly, generous, kind, loving, and smart. You are gorgeous and yet your inner beauty outshines what everyone sees on the outside. You are growing up way too fast, yet you are more and more fun to be with every day. I love you more than you'll ever know! Thank you for bringing so much joy and sunshine to my life. Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!