Currently

Teaching parent-child swim lessons at the YMCA.  Nicole and I have been teaching parent-child swim lessons together on Saturday mornings since September.  She loves the water which is really the only reason that I've been able to pull the whole thing off.  Nicole enthusiastically models the various skills we're learning and I get to help parents teach their littles how to be safe and comfortable in the water.  A few weeks ago the aquatic director approached me to ask if I'd be willing to teach parent-child swim lessons for their summer program, which kicked off on Monday.  I agreed to give it a shot and I consider this opportunity an answer to prayer.  Temperatures are starting to soar here and we've already had handful of days when it's been too hot to play outside.   I've been praying about how to keep Nicole active despite the heat and teaching swimming lessons indoors 4 times a week seems to be a pretty great way.

Marveling at Nicole's growth.  Shawn and I whole-heartedly agree that being parents has started to be really fun.   Truly we've enjoyed every stage thus far, but nothing has felt as fun as this one.  We are amazed at the depth and breadth of growth happening right before our eyes on a daily basis.  Not a single day goes by when Nicole doesn't learn at least one new word and it seems like she's making connections at the speed of light.  We're in a season where the old adage, "more is caught than taught" is completely true.  I find myself being increasingly aware of what I say and do, but also pleasantly surprised to see the example that I've been setting for months show up in positive ways in Nicole's behavior.  For example, twice in the last week Nicole has asked me for a wash cloth and then has diligently washed the kitchen floor with it.  I've never taught her how to wash the floor or involved her in the process but unbeknownst to me, she has been watching and learning!

Listening to Hap Palmer. I was mostly unfamiliar with the world of children's music until I started attending the baby story time at our local library.  We regularly sing a handful of Hap Palmers songs during story time and when I inquired about where to find the music one of the librarians quickly tracked down one of his CDs for me to borrow.  I always have a CD in the car for Nicole to listen to while we are in transit but most of the time whatever new music I spring on her is quickly replaced by her beloved Winnie the Pooh CD.  We listen to Pooh's song, "Up, Down, Touch the Ground" on repeat for the duration of almost all of our car trips.    You can imagine my relief when Nicole happily listened to every single song on Hap Palmers early childhood classics CD.  We have been exclusively listening to that CD during all of our car rides for a couple of weeks now and both of us have been enjoying the songs.   I find the music very easy to sing along to and the least annoying of any children's music we've listen to thus far.

Loving time as a family.  Shawn just wrapped up a 50 day event called reviveTexas and we are all thrilled to re-establish our normal family rhythms once again. Each meal we've shared since Sunday has felt like a treat and being able to tag-team Nicole's bedtime routine feels like a complete luxury.   I learned a lot about how to run our household and maintain as much normalcy as possible for Nicole while Shawn was working but I am thrilled to have him back in the picture.  Dinner time is more enjoyable, our evenings feel increasingly lighthearted and more than anything, having another set of hands and eyes around creates a significant amount of margin in my life.   I am sure that we will continue to uncover lessons we learned during reviveTexas, but I also think we will be cherishing our family time for many weeks to come.

Cooking out of my Skinnytaste Fast & Slow Cookbook.  The cookbook was a gift from my sister Angela in celebration of my 30th birthday earlier this year.  Angela also gifted our sister Anna the same cookbook and bought a copy for herself, so all 3 of us have it stocked in our kitchens.   I have already cooked over a dozen recipes from the cookbook and we've enjoyed them all.  I haven't been a huge fan of Gina's first cookbook because the ingredient lists are long and the cooking is fussier than my life with a toddler underfoot allows.  Gina's new Fast & Slow cookbook has been full of pleasant surprises and has equipped me with numerous low-fuss and tasty recipes.  I'm positive I'll be cooking from it for years!

That's all the news we have for now.  What have you been up to lately?
Love,
Erica