Life in the pool!

So I am back in the pool 6 days a week. It has been great and I am loving it. On average we have been swimming 4500-5000 yards in 1 hour and 15 mins. I recently moved up to lane 2 (1:20 base)...which means I am only 1 lane away from the fastest lane. Which is where I would like to be. A few of us are looking at going to Master Nationals. Should be lots of fun. And the best part of it all is getting back in shape, doing something I love. So far I have lost 20 lbs and 13 inches.

First I must say sorry I have been MIA...it's been busy with the 3 kids...plus Jaxon (& Lea). The last few months have been filled with a new preschool, dr visits, a vacation to Mike's family's lake house, Sea World, the beach, the end of PeeWee sports, Abigail walking and Jaxon and Catie crawling and I have been back in the pool 6 days a week. And to add to all that, we are getting over a nasty cold now.
Anyhow I created a slide with photos to fill you in on what we have been doing. I am sure I will have more to post soon...As the next few weeks are going to be filled with my parents coming for 3 weeks, preschools Harvest Festival, our Disneyland trip, the Pumpkin patch, Halloween, and much more. Hope everyone is doing well!

The past month in one post

Ok so sorry for the long post... It's been crazy busy at the Maples house. At the end of May my mom came to visit for 3 weeks. While she was here we spent the day at the beach with her good friend Susie (& family), went to Sea World, Tom's Farm, a few birthday party's, swimming,PeeWee Sports (3 weeks of basketball, t-ball & soccer) and much more. Also during this time my sister Lea and her son Jaxon moved down here to stay with us til Robert moves down and they find a place. So to say the least my house is a bit crazy with 3 babies (Abigail 8 months, Catie & Jaxon are 5 months) So it's kind of like having triplets. And a 3 year old who could drive anyone crazy. So here are the pictures from this past month.

Trying to Crawl

Abigail is now on a mission to crawl...I on the other hand wishes she stay still. It's so funny cause she gets up on her toes but then ends up laying down like wow I am so tired.

End of Week 5 (Last day)

So Grady is all done with swim lessons. So here is a clip of the last day!

Bust a Move!

So last night we went to Mike's friend's birthday party. We had a great time but Grady had a better time. He was so funny last night. I don't think I have ever seen him so wild. He was asking the other little girls to dance with him. It was so cute. He would get mad when the girls stopped dancing and he had a huge melt down when it was time to leave. But here is a clip of him dancing.

NO DAVID!

I bought Grady the book No David! And we read it about 4-5 times last night and today he was reading it to me. Now it wasn't perfect but I was amazed at how much he has memorized is such a short period of time, and he let me Video tape it. So here it is...

The end of week 4

Here is the video of Week 4. He is now swimming across the pool, I am so proud of him. I can't wait to take him swimming myself.

The One Armed Swimmer

So I snuck a video yesterday at swim lessons cause Grady was swimming one armed. And I am afraid he won't do it long enough to get it on video. It's so funny I had to tape it. He is doing so good! This program is pretty amazing. The girls will be doing it next year!!

End of Week 3 **EDITED**

*I realized the same video was posted from week two so this is a new video from Week 3*

So Grady is doing so well! He is no longer whining while he floats. He is even kicking his arms and moving his arms. He told me the other day he wants to be on swim team like mommy. Week 4 will start next week cause the teacher is going out of town. Which works out well cause Grady has bronchitis. So we are all recovering from a few nights of no sleep. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

End of week 2

So we are at the end of week 2 of swim lessons. Grady is doing well! So here is the video from Friday!

Amazing Program!

So Grady started swim lessons last week. They are not your typical swim lessons at the public pool. These are really survival lessons. The program is called Infant Swimming Resources. http://www.infantswim.com/ It's pretty amazing to see the progress of Grady and the other kids around him. His first lesson he cried the whole time. Second lesson cried about half the time. Third lesson just cried before getting in and now he is asking to go to swim lessons and doesn't want to get out when they are over.

I must admit they are pretty expensive for a 10 mins per day for 5-6 weeks. But no amount of money can save your child in an aquatic accident. "Swim lessons teach your kid how to swim but knowing how to swim a few feet in the water is not necessarily going to save your child in an emergency situation. Your child's ability to survive an aquatic accident depends on her ability to orient themselves in the water and get a breath & keep breathing until she can be rescued or get out of the water. Most drownings or near-drowning incidents occur when a child is fully clothed." (from the Parent Resource book) Therefor by the end of the lessons Grady will be swimming fully clothed in both summer and winter clothes (oh and shoes).

I found out about this program through a friend who had her son in the class at 15 months. I highly recommend it to everyone. I will post a new video every week so you can see his progress. (We can only video tape on Fridays) But check out the site to find an instructor near you. Some other video to watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zesZi6rqGA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aseQsDBJS6c

Easter & Grady's b-day

Well since we were in Arizona for Easter we celebrated the following weekend with Mike's family. We also celebrated Grady's 3rd birthday. I made a ham dinner with my favorite cheesy potatoes and green beans. Grady had a great time playing with his cousin Riley & Micah. We had a little Easter egg hunt. Grady opened presents, we had dinner and then mini cakes for the kids and cheese cake with strawberries for the adults. So here are a few pictures.

Grady waiting to dye eggs

All done

Not sure what this look is about!

The kids with their Easter baskets

Catie and her Easter Basket

Grady on his new bike he got for his birthday

Grady playing catch with his older cousin Micah

Abigail playing with her feet
And trying to suck on her toes
And she's got them!

Spring Training!

We had a pretty good trip considering we have 3 kids under the age of 3. We went to 2 games while we were there in the lovely 90 degree weather. Sat. was a rough day, the kids were not so good and it was hot with no breeze. Sun was a much better day, the girls slept most of the game and Grady made a friend with the little boy sitting behind us. We also went swimming that night. Abigail loves the water. Mon was Grady's b-day so we had a few presents for him and then we went to this place called Castle & Coasters. They have games, miniature golf and rides (which were closed) Tues we head home! So here are a few pictures from our trip!

Catie - Sat Abigail - Sat Grady & Catie sleeping - Sat.
Grady, Abigail & Catie - SunAbigail in her cute Padres outfit - Sun

Abigail getting ready to go swimming - Sun

Abigail's first time underwater

Grady, Mommy & Abigail

Grady Opening his b-day presents

Grady & Daddy playing miniature golf on his b-day

Grady playing games on his b-day

We Moved!

Sorry I haven't been keeping up! I've been extremely busy cause WE MOVED!!! It was kind of short notice but we are extremely happy to be out in Carlsbad now! Pictures to come soon...after I finish unpacking. Anyhow we are off to Arizona tomorrow for our mini vacations! Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend! Here's a few random pictures of the kids!

Abigail kind of sitting by herself (she fell over shortly after the picture)

Catie is growing

Grady at the San Diego Air & Space Museum

Jumping Duck!

We took Grady to the park to feed the ducks and this one duck would jump for his food!

Abigail is Rolling!

1...
2...
and over! Abigail rolled over Sunday night!

Valentine's Day!

We had a nice quiet day. We as a family went out to Mexican food for dinner and the kids were all good for the most part.

Grady opening his gift with Daddy and the dog Buddy.
Grady holding his Valentine he made for his preschool teacher.

Abigail's 3 month pictures

Ok so I have been posting a lot and so some of you have some catching up to do... I keep checking everyones blogs for updates and many of you haven't updated in awhile. Anyhow can you believe Abigail is already 3 months old (well 3 1/2) . Wow the time goes by fast. Just thought I would share a few pictures of her 3 months photo shoot! Isn't she so cute???

Catherine Marie

So once everything is finalized Kennedy will become Catherine Marie Maples. Anyhow here are a few pictures I took the other day!

Spring Training Trip

So Mike and I going to Arizona for Spring training (baseball) every March (minus last year cause I was pregnant and sick.) We always have so much fun with our friends who decide to join us. It's always a great time, going to the games, shopping in Scottsdale, hanging out at the pool. So that's right everyone and anyone is invited for a long weekend of fun. We will be there March 21st- March 25th and will be going to a baseball game Sat, Sun & Mon. It would be fun to see some of you!!

Jaxon Lee

Lea & Robert had their baby Jaxon Lee on Jan. 27th at 11:46 pm (I think) he was 7 lbs 2 oz and 21 inches long. Everyone is home and doing well! Here are a few pictures.

The New Addition

Okay so I know everyone is wondering about our new addition. So here is how the story goes... Thur. Jan. 24th we get a message saying our friends daughter (who is 15) is sick and her mom is taking her to the ER. So then a few hours later we get another call saying that she has been moved to Labor & Delivery. So Mike goes to the hospital and calls me to tell me she is having a baby. So I load the kids up and head to the hospital. Since our kids couldn't be in the room we took turns in the lobby with the kids til the baby was born.

So at 6:45 pm the baby was born weighting 5 lbs 5 oz. And I got to be there for her birth. She was small but did really well. Since she had no prenatal care they took her to the nursery to put some IV's in her and to watch her since they weren't sure how far along she was. Turns out she was born around 38 weeks so she wasn't really a preemie just small. She came home with us Sat night and we have had her ever since. She is doing good and putting on lots of weight already (6 lbs 12 oz as of today) So she is doing good! Now we are just going through the legal process.

This is one of those stories you hear about the kid being pregnant and no one knowing. She hid it well since we saw here mid Dec and had no idea. So we are just glad they are both ok and that she has made the best choice for the baby. I can't imagine what she is going through so it's a little bitter sweet for us. So that's the story of how Kennedy Cathrine Marie came into our life.

Tagged

I've been TAGGED

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning. B. Each player answers the questions about themselves. C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: I was in High School, spent most of my time swimming and working as a lifegurad/swim instructor.

5 things on my to do list today: 1. Clean my house for our SuperBowl Party 2. take a nap 3. Make a few phone calls 4. Take & Pick up Grady from Preschool. 5. Get the mail

Snacks I enjoy: Lets see...chips, chocolate, ice cream, cheese & crackers, salsa & chips, to name a few.

What I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire: First I would invest most of it so that way we could live off the interest. But then I would buy some nice property in Carlsbad and build our dream house along with a house for my parents to live in right next door. And I am sure I would buy a few things, maybe a new car, clothes, shoes, stuff for the kids.

3 of my bad habits: Eating too many sweets, talking on the phone too much & shopping too much.

5 places I have lived: Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona

5 jobs I have had: Swim Instructor, Lifeguard, AR Mananger, Service Dept. Head Cashier & Receptionist

5 things people don't know about me: 1. I'm 1/4 Swedish, Mormor (grandma) was raised there 2. I swim competetivly 3. I love photography 4. I want to go back to school when my kids are older to be a RN in Labor & Delivery 5. And the big shocker... Mike and I are in the process of adopting a week old baby girl. Her name is Kennedy Cathrine-Marie, she was born Jan. 24th weighing 5 lbs 5 oz and 17 inches long. She came home with us on Sat. the 27th. So life is busy with 3 kids under the age of 3.

tagging: Lea, Kelly, Brooke, Kate & SusieAbigail & Kennedy