Isaac Tries the Diving Board

Today at the end of swim lessons, as a treat, Isaac's teacher took him into the diving bay and let him jump off the diving board. Naturally I had to go see. He knew the pool was 12 feet deep, his teacher had him jump off the side and swim a little to show him he could do it, then he climbed up the ladder onto the board, walked to the end, bounced a little and went right in! Totally AWESOME! He did it a few times, then went down the water slide a couple times, then returned to the diving board. This video clip is of the last jump where he was so fearless he went even before his teacher was in the pool. He did it and got to the side all on his own! I guess it may seem like no big deal, but for a kiddo who has never done anything like that, in water that deep, I am so proud.

Painting

Isaac originally bought this sword at the Renaissance Festival, yes way back in February. He wanted one of the cool painted ones, but they were ridiculously expensive (like $38 or something), so we bought a plain wooden one that we could paint ourselves. Well, we FINALLY bought the paint for it and over the weekend Paul and Isaac painted it just how Isaac wanted it. Citron green with dark purple and blue flames on it, a black hilt and a red handle.
You can see Isaac's extreme focus while painting. Although I could have taught Isaac to paint, having his daddy (who, if you don't know, is an amazing painter/artist and far more qualified than I to instruct on the subject) teach him was a fun time. Turns out Paul really enjoyed having that paint brush in his hand again and so who knows what masterpiece that might inspire.

Private Swimming Lessons

Last year Isaac took swim lessons at the YMCA (just like I did years ago, and the class names are still the same: eel, guppy, shark...) The classes were four days a week for two weeks, each class 30 minutes. Seemed like a good deal, and he learned a lot. But then I realized each class had six students. That meant he got 5 minutes from each lesson=40 minutes of 1:1 time. When I saw that the private lessons were less than double the price of group lessons, it was a no-brainer to pay for private lessons this year.
Day one consisted of using a kick board to practice controlled kicking, then blowing bubbles while kicking, then doing strokes and breathing while using the kick board, then swimming freestyle. In just 30 minutes the improvement was phenomenal. Day two was a little more of the same, but also started learning backstroke and worked a lot on diving to the bottom of the pool for rings! The second two pictures show Isaac getting ready to dive for the rings and pulling himself down, putting his legs up in order to get his head down.
Yesterday and today were more diving for rings and using the kick board, but today they really focused on rolling onto his side for a breath. I am totally amazed by how quickly kids learn, and I am especially happy to have Isaac learning how to swim. I explained to him that kids his age are already on the swim team and he is now talking of joining the swim team next summer. Of course this would make me unbelievably happy and proud, but I won't pressure him into it. If he wants to do it, I am totally supportive, as I would be with whatever else he is inclined to try or do. A week after Isaac finishes his swim lessons we head to the Sierra's for our annual trip to Pineridge and the Lake. This year we're going for over 2 weeks and we are SOOO excited because we've never gone that long. Plus, we get to see Uncle Eric, Aunt Kier, Ella and Kaia--our one time to see them the whole year! Maybe we'll get them for Thanksgiving this year, if we're lucky. We miss you guys and can't wait to see you!

Urchin Nose

At the bowling alley, Isaac managed to convince me to give him 50 cents for a toy vending machine. This "urchin" is what came out. Though it wasn't the huge one he was hoping for that he could wear over his head like hair, Isaac has spent a lot of time playing with this since. His favorite thing to do with it? Put on his nose and breathe in and out to make the urchin expand and contract. What else can I say?

Boys...

As usual, Isaac was full of ideas of things that we could do. Here, he had the inspired idea to wrestle with the guys. All fun and games and good times. Clearly, Brian took Isaac's side and it quickly became two against one, Paul being the one. After a while Paul said he was done, it's hot and, well wrestling at six is a lot easier than at 34. Then Isaac asked Brian if he was tired. To which Brian responded something to the effect of "I'm not that old yet" he's 33 ;-) Being brothers, you can only imagine where this lead...
This is where it lead. Paul and Brian had their own little match. Thus the title of the post "Boys..." Understand they were both laughing so hard that I feel confident in saying little real wrestling went on.

Bowling

Isaac has been begging to go bowling for quite a while now, and recently I went with my friend Heidi and our kids. Isaac had a blast and so did I. Then, while Uncle Brian was visiting we were finally able to find a Wii (we saved as a family but had spent over a week trying to find one--they're sold out everywhere!). We were sitting at home trying out the games we had, including bowling when it occurred to me that it would be WAY more fun to actually go bowling for real. Seeing as how the nearest bowling alley is less than a mile away, we decided that we'd make the trek. Turned out to be really fun, though Paul is a little too good (Brian beat him in the last game though).
I suck at bowling, but it was still fun, even if Isaac can bowl as well as I can (he had the bumpers up, though). Isaac's technique pretty much consists of flinging the ball somewhere in the lane and letting the bumpers bounce it back and forth until it knocks out a surprisingly large number of pins.
Here are shots of Paul and Brian bowling. Notice I didn't include pictures of me bowling...it was way too pathetic to share. But maybe Isaac and I will go a few more times this summer and in theory I could improve. Don't anyone hold their breath, it is only theoretical that I could get better!

Sword Fighting with Uncle Brian

Ok, I have fallen behind on my blogging, so now I'll attempt to catch up. Last, last weekend (not the one that just passed), Paul's brother Brian came down to visit for the weekend. Uncle Brian in THE COOLEST uncle, just ask any of the kids in the Soto family. We got to him all to ourselves for 2 full days! Always ready for a sword fight--dressed up of course--Isaac asked Uncle Brian to have a sword fight and Uncle Brian said yes (remember I said he's the coolest). Paul had the presence of mind to snap a few pictures. Good times in the morning before we went to the climbing gym. Sadly, neither Paul nor I had the presence of mind to even remember the camera, so no pictures of that...Uncle Brian, you'll have to come back again soon, we'll all go climbing and remember to take the camera this time!

Diaper Cake

No, no, it's not edible. When I first heard of these I thought it must be a cake shaped like a diaper, but who would want to eat that?! Then I did what every American does, I googled it! Then I had an ah-ha moment: it's a cake made out of diapers, decorated with things needed for new baby and topped off with anything cute, fuzzy or useful. A friend of mine is expecting in August and I decided to make a diaper cake for her. It was so much fun!
For those of you who are curious, the whole thing is built around something cylindrical (paper towel tube, bottle full of candy, or in my case a stacking cup set). I rolled up diapers and secured them with rubber bands, then held them in place by yarn which I covered up by a wide ribbon. Then I used narrow ribbon to tie on small baby needs (pacifiers, feeding spoons, a rattle, teething rings, etc). I made smaller bows and ribbons with large flower buttons at the end as decorations. Lastly, I cut a large circle out of cardboard and covered it with some fabric as a base. I'm sure for some of you this truly boring, but maybe not for some of you...It was really fun for me, hopefully the mom-to-be will like it!