Lounging at the Pool...

We had a pool playdate this morning!! Our neighbor-friends, Lauren and Gabe, invited us over to swim. Brian was very excited to see his buddy, Eli - Ed was excited because he loves to swim with Gavin - and I couldn't wait to get my hands on their brand new baby, Ryan.

Brian wore a brand new floatie-suit that his Daddy bought him. He looked absolutely hysterical in it. A cross between "Hanz & Franz" the bodybuilders and "The Michelin Man".

He strutted around the house super confident...even taking the time to brush his hair before we left.

But then we got there. All of a sudden he was Mr. Shy! He refused to swim - instead wanting to lounge over by the chairs...right near a lounging baby Ryan. Is he a gorgeous baby, or what??

Eli waited patiently for Brian to swim with him. His enthusiasm for the water just wasn't enough to entice Brian, though, so he went off to swim with his Daddy.

Gavin was a fish, as usual. He loves to swim with Ed and practically fell asleep in his new float!

Later on in the afternoon we ran some errands. First stop was Toys r Us to buy a baby pool. I know what you're thinking! "What happened to that huge 'baby pool'? You know, the one that could hold a thousand babies??" Good question. Turns out it was a huge pain. It wouldn't hold air...and it was very difficult to drain. I found we barely used it because my crippled hands couldn't lift it to get the water out! And standing there for a half hour bucketing the water out was not appealing anymore. So we treated ourselves (now that they're on clearance to make room for the back to school merchandise!!) to a cheapo plastic pool.

I learned my lesson - do it the old fashioned way.

The next stop was the grocery store. We needed food for the week (and our family dinners!). I'm always looking for new things to try with the boys. Last week I picked up "Goldfish Bread" for Brian - thin bread shaped like Goldfish crackers. He wasn't a fan, which shocked me. Today I picked up Coconut Milk for Gavin. He LOVED it!!! I wrote in a previous post that I was going to try giving Gavin Kefir to drink once a day to help with his motility. I was hoping to replace his one teaspoon a day of MiraLax with that. Well, that didn't go well. There was no guarantee that he'd drink enough Kefir to help him to "go". We still offered it, but we couldn't count on it as a motility agent. I wish we didn't need to give Gavin anything, but unfortunately his low tone makes it very difficult to have a bowel movement. It's heartbreaking when he struggles.

Boy, the things we take for granted, right. Having Gavin in my life means I appreciate everything. He has taught me more in 3 1/2 years than I'd learn in a lifetime of schooling.