Two for the Price of One or a Two-four

I am back on track and on schedule so here we go.
Thursday morning- I did it! We finally left the house fully fed and watered, dressed, bags completely dressed(no forgotten underwear for Dad) and on time. We didn't try anything new at swimming but Fin is getting a bit more comfortable on his back. He still won't let his legs just drag behind him, he's got them sticking up in the air, holding onto his toes if not my face. He does smile when the instructors come and move his legs in a kicking motion for him.
We had a pleasant suprise Thursday afternoon as Ella was able to get away from the office and "work" from home. She has one of these blackberries that allows her portable internet access as well as phone daytimer etc. So while she naps with are son she can be in contact with her office;)
Ella and I then got ready for an evening out. This required almost military like planning as we were all sleeping over at Granny and Granda's. We packed for the evening out(harbour dinner/dance cruise), swimming lessons and the change of clothes for after swimming, as well as making sure the boy had dinner, breakfast and enough milk. It also required an hour and a half for one of us to get our nails done. Mum and Dad are looking after one of Kirsty's pups right now. His name is Monty and he is almost as big as his mother, when we saw him last he was only a little bundle of fur. It was another dog for Fin to talk to,so he was pleased. Mum and Dad babysat while Ella and I went out. By all accounts he was in bed sleeping by 7:30, and he only woke up once at 3:00. Again Mum and Dad looked after him then so Ella & I got to sleep through the night, which we both needed. Dad did sound a little horse this morning, what with all the singing he had to do to get him to drop off during the night.
Our cruise was fabulous. The food was decent, the weather was clear and sunny, and after a couple of drinks the dance floor seemed to fill up and a good time was had by all. The cruise left Coal Harbour(where the cruise ship terminal is) and we motored under the Lions Gate Bridge, around Stanely Park, along the beach in English Bay and up False Creek past Granville Island and we turned around by Science World and headed back. It's wonderful to get onto the water and view the city. You take for granted sometimes in what a picturesque setting we are based, with the mountains as a backdrop. I really don't think there are too many better cities to live in, we sailed by some forested acreage in Stanley Park, looked up at the North Shore mountains where people ski in the winter and passed people enjoying the beach and the seawall, and had folks training for dragon boat racing pass us as we toasted other boaters.
7:30 Friday morning came around awfully early, but was not as painful having had a full nights sleep. We packed our bags, we said our thanks, Fin gave hugs and kissed to Granny and Granda and we were on our way to swimming lessons. Today Ella swam with him. I didn't think I was much of a control freak but it was difficult just to sit there and watch and not participate. I think when Fin gets older and if he wants to play sports, I'll have to try coaching so I can yell from the sidelines without being seen a meddling parent. After nearly drowning the boy, by not having his head high enough out of the water, I think Ella settled down and Fin and I began to relax a little. At least I stopped pacing from the poolside viewing area. This place is like another sporting arena in itself. The mothers who have older kids taking lessons, sit at tables with their Starbuck's coffee and as soon as classes are over the next lot of mother are in the chairs before the first lot are even away from the table. It like a mothers version of musical chairs. It was me who didn't have a chair when the music stopped and had to stand against the wall. Not that I'm bitter,even though they weren't even watching their kids. No, they used up that prime real estate for gossiping or reading their novels, while I had to crane my neck to watch the boy. I think Ella found it difficult to let the instructor take Fin and swim around with him. I'm sure her eyes watered up a bit or maybe it was just some of the pool water. Ah bless;) She did however get to try something new. They took these floaties that looked like dumbbells and stuck those under his arms, so he could bob around without anyone holding him and he seemed to enjoy that well enough.
From there it was off the the Automall to get Ella's car serviced and we hopped(as easily as one can hop onto a bus with a huge stroller) onto the free shuttle bus that took us to the local shopping centre. There we picked up Fin's first toothbrush. We didn't make it home til 3:30 so a long day for all. You guessed it, family nap time!
After dinner tonight, bouystered by Mum and Dad's success in putting him to bed, we set about trying to re-establish a bedtime routine. So bath, bottle, book. The three B's. I have to admit I've been guilty of leaving Fins bathing up to Ella, as I usually wash up then but tonight helped her. I'll try to do it more often as it a lot of fun and he really enjoys it. Ella then gave him a massage with scented baby oil and I gave him a bottle and read Good Night Moon. We left the lamp on, turned on a CD, gave him a couple of cuddly toys and left him to drop off. I was amazed he didn't scream when I placed him in his crib, but he seemed happy enough grinning at his stuffed lion. That lasted about ten minutes. Then we started hearing his unhappy noises but we were washing dishes and chopping and pureeing beans so lots of noise to distract us. Another ten/fifteen minutes he was getting more upset so I went down for a cuddle and a rock. We went back to an old stand by "Twinkle twinkle little Star" and that with my thumb stuck in his mouth seemed to do the trick. He's been down three hours since then. Knock on wood(this is where you visualize me knocking on my head). Will keep you posted as to how the routine works out. Now tomorrow we'll be throwing it all out the window as we're off to a barbecue but there you go. Now, I didn't use it tonight but have had a lot of success recently with We'll be coming. As a special treat I've got the link to the website which is www.tartanspecials.com/well-be-coming.html Do yourselves a favour and play the cartoon it is hilarious and one of the characters looks suspiciously like me.
Having got Fin down Ella and I were enjoying the concert down in the cove from our deck. Now how's this for an image... Me and Ma on the homestead(back deck), citronella torch burning to keep the mossies away, tea lights flickering for atmosphere, each of us sitting back enjoy the music, sipping a beer...while straining pureed beans and spooning them into ice cube trays. Ah the good life.