Swimming and Parties - The last part of June

The last couple weeks of June flew by. We started with Rowan's birthday party at Pullen Park on the 20th. Hudson spent the morning with Bebe, so Matt and I had the time to spend with Alden. She had such a good time seeing her little buddies from school, riding the merry-go-round (a bunny the first time, a goat the second), doing the train ride, and the boats.
Monday, the 15th, started Alden's two weeks of swim lessons. Her teacher was Mr. Wes, who Alden called Little Miss Wes. She jumped right in and did great. Over the course of the session, she learned to float on her back, to kick on her back, to swim across the pool with her float belt on, to swim with her face down, and to jump off the starting blocks. In true Alden form, she beat all the boys across the pool, and was the most aggressive swimmer in her group.That Friday, we went to the Lake Johnson pool with Ethan, Jake, Caroline and their moms and brothers. The kids had a great time, but it was hard work to keep up with Alden and Hudson by myself.


Alden had her first hair cut at a "salon"! We went to Snip-its, and she did SUCH a good job. The lady gave her animal crackers to eat and let her watch TV while she was working on her hair, and then she got a surprise at the end. Her haircut makes her seem so much older, and maybe just a little sassier...just what we need.
That last weekend of the month, we had Ethan's party at Marbles, which was a blast. We hadn't been to Marbles since almost a year ago when we first moved here, and they had changed their upstairs exhibits to something much more fun. Alden and Hudson played in the peas and carrots ball pit, built block towers, and as expected, Alden spent most of the time at the Thomas the Train table. Hudson liked playing with the food and pulling the carrots and potatoes out of the "ground" and even tried to push the little wheelbarrow. There was a little igloo upstairs, that Hudson enjoyed, too. Mostly because of the tunnel entrance and the giant stuffed husky dogs inside. The ice fishing hole and stuffed fish were also a big hit.
One of Hudson's latest tricks is to stand on his head and look through his legs and laugh. This is hilarious. It is even funny to watch Alden do it with him.
He has been pointing at everything lately, and makes this cute "Unhhh?" sound when he points. We have been doing a lot of dancing, too, and it is fun to watch Hudson bouncing around to the music. Everyday he seems to be getting bigger. It is hard to believe that he will be 1 in a month!