Memorial Day at the Farm

We headed to the family farm for Memorial Day Weekend. Gracie was staying on the farm while we headed to Florida. This was going to be Lukas' first time in the pool since last summer. We were curious to see how he did without his float pack and how much he remembered from his swimming lessons the year before. Our brave little swimmer from the summer of 2009 and 2010 has become much more cautious of deeper water this year. He still LOVES the water but asks where the deep water and the short water is before jumping in. I was glad to see that he remembered had to swim. He kicks very well and swims mostly under water; seems to have forgotten how to use his arms. He can swim but wants to be able to put is feet down to take a breath. He went off the board twice with his dad in the pool but decided it was too much work and was a little unsure so he stuck to the shallow end (or short end as he calls it). He was pretty much in the water from sunup to sundown everyday.

He still likes to go under water for the dive sticks and rings. Playing in the water with cousin Abbie and Aunt Kate.

Having lunch poolside under the umbrella of their new kids only table that grandma tractor got them.

Hangin' with the cows

We went for a walk over to the farm and caught up with my nieces while they were photo catologing the herd for their dad. Needless to say, if the girls were hanging out with the cows in the herd, then so was Lukas. He was quite entertained by the idea of pull up grass and having the cow eat out of his hand.

The first time his reaction was a loud, "ewwwww!" It didn't stop him from getting more grass and feeding her again. So, here are some pictures of Lukas feeding Daisy. Cheyenne finally told Lukas the cows were tired and needed a nap so they could get him out of the pasture.



And, yes, that's about an 800lb cow he's feeding!

National Adoption Month

Lukas' first school picture...


We discovered last weekend at my parent's house that Lukas has grown enough in height that he can now ride the small bike with training wheels. I only wish we had the camera with us because he was flying up and down the drive-way. My middle brother and his boys were down to bring thier boat in so he got to spend time with the boys and my younger brother's girls. He was ecstatic to ride in the big tractor with Uncle David!

We also went to visit my parent's friends up the road who own a sheep farm. Lukas was chasing them around the pen and got to meet a couple of them up close and personal.

In honor of National Adoption Month our agency created a video called "First Moments"
The children in the slide montage are from the various countries our agency works in. Lukas is included in the video. Just copy and paste this link to view it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_eXsnC-oFs

Down on the farm part 2...All about the swimming

I didn't want to overload one blog with a ton of photos so this post is all about the pool and learning to swim. He has no fear of the pool and we really had to watch him closely. He got more and more confident as the days past. He went from watching the older kids and holding tightly to mom and dad to just jumping in without even counting or caring if anyone was looking. The last day we came back out to the pool and jumped in with out our float pack! Fortunately mama was right behind him and it was the shallow end!

Enjoy the picture summary of his first pool experience....

Day 1


Day 2
Monkey see...
Monkey do...

Day 3.... No cousins but Grandma and Grandpa Robey visit

Family time including the dogs
Playing with Grandpa


Day 4






Feeling a little too confident and doesn't want any more help



Playing Big Kids Style





Swimming makes me hungry

Down on the farm with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop Cowell

I know alot of you have been waiting to hear how the visit to the farm on the Eastern Shore of Maryland went, especially Lukas' experience with the pool. To summarize the 5 day trip...LUKAS HAD A BLAST AND IS QUITE ATTACHED TO HIS COUSINS!

When we arrived he ran right up to Mom-Mom and gave her a big hug. He had only spent a couple of hours with her the day we arrived back and that had been 2 weeks earlier. Once we got inside and he saw the pool his eyes got real big and he was all excited so it was a quick change into swimsuits and into the pool. He wasn't to happy about the swim trainer pack at first but came to associate it with going in the pool. He has taken to the water very quickly, thanks to his cousins more than anything else. He wanted to do everything the older kids did. They were very good with him. Day one was spent in the shallow end and standing on the diving board. Day 2 we actually decided to jump off the board. Mama and Papa got their exercise trying to stay afloat and fish him out of the water and over to the ladder. Day 3 was a little more laid back as the cousins were all gone for the day. Day 4 he started "swimming" on his own a little and would only go to his cousin Cheyenne when he jumped in. Day 5 he wanted to be a big boy and did it all himself. Needless to say we stayed close by just in case.

Over the weekend he played with his cousins including riding on cousin Chris' skateboard, visiting the farm animals, playing ball, riding a tricycle, eating steamed crabs fresh from the creek and eating Mom-Mom's fresh fruits and veggies. He would go in the garage and just grab a couple of tomatoes and chomp down. We also spent some time at a nice playground just down the road. Mom-Mom didn't know it was there.

Papa scored some major trust and attachment points with the pool. He is doing better about listening to papa. He is still not saying a great deal in English but seems to understand us when we talk to him. He now thinks when you count that it is 1,2, 3 jump instead of 1, 2, 3, 4.

He is quite fond of his new extended family and seems to especially like his Aunt Debbie. He got quite excited when she called on the phone and was just smiling and jibber jabbering away. Enough of the chit chat, I know what you really want is to see some photos.


Playing ball

Skateboarding

Visit to the barn



Our new favorite toy...the singing cow
This is how we eat crabs
Playground fun!!


A little assist from Mama