Growing Up...

Hello, friends! 

Last week, we hit a big milestone in our family. Jonah learned how to swing on the swing by himself! After many weeks of wanting to learn but also wanting to be pushed constantly, he's now decided that it's better for him if he swings by himself. He was very proud of himself. 

Megan and I had some mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, we love how Jonah continues to grow and develop. We also love that we don't have to stand behind him and push him for forever when he wants to swing. Megan is especially excited for the prospect of Jonah being able to entertain himself while she does some summer gardening. 

On the other hand, it is a reminder that our kiddos aren't as young as they used to be and that they're becoming more and more independent. We are getting closer and closer to the point where we're going to have 3 school aged kids, which I think will be a major transition for us. 

It's not just JoJo either. Last week, Thaliea celebrated her 7th birthday, and she wanted to have a "spa day" birthday party, which meant a bunch of little girls at our house doing their nails and putting on face masks (the boys and I were banished from the house so I took them to an arcade). Her friend group has changed in this school year and her personality is becoming even more pronounced. Ezra has also seen his friend group adjust and his interests have changed some too. He's finished the first 2 books of Harry Potter and we're finding that he can do a lot more things on his own (like cook eggs for breakfast). He also can swim on his own now, which is HUGE. 

Ultimately, all these things are good things. We want our kids to be independent. We want them to be able to think for themselves. We're thankful that they continue to learn and grow and develop into people that other people want to be around. Still, it's weird... 

A few months ago, Jonah had a really big problem of sleeping through the night. He'd get up around 2 or 3 pretty regularly. Sometimes he would cry in his bed for us. Sometimes he would walk into our bedroom and drag us out of bed to put him back to sleep. It was a really rough time for getting good sleep but it was also sweet in its own way, knowing that he just wanted his mommy and daddy. I just noticed last week that we haven't had any problems with him sleeping through the night in quite some time. I guess he's growing up, and that's OK. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

 

Swim Lessons!!!

Hello, friends! 

One of the things that I like to say a lot in our house is that "we Leongs are not a sea-faring people." This mostly comes from the fact that there are lots of folk on my side of the family who have some pretty bad motion sickness (myself included). I remember one time we took a family trip to Catalina Island. It was just a short trip via boat but it was ROUGH and we had to take some time off the boat to gather ourselves before we could enjoy our vacation. 

Added to that is the fact that I am a terrible swimmer. When I do my triathlons, I always dread the swim section (which is first). I've gotten better as a swimmer but I still manage to get myself lost in the lake during races. It's kind of the worst... 

I only remember taking swim lessons once in my life. It's possible that I took it more than once but I only remember it one time. We didn't have a pool growing up and none of my friends did either. When we went to the health club where we had membership when I was a kid had a kiddie pool section where we could just play and not have to actually swim. When I went to the beach, we'd play in the ocean but it wasn't swimming. So, I'm not entirely sure that I actually had much experience swimming properly before I started doing triathlons. 

The kids are another story. We've been getting them involved in swim lessons for the past few years now. The YMCA has good swim lessons at a decent price and it feels like a good idea to give them a better swimming foundation than I got growing up. 

You can really tell a kid's personality by how they handle swim lessons. Ezra is hyper competitive. He's less interested in doing it right versus doing it faster than anyone else. Thaliea is much more cautious and wants to make sure that she's doing the right thing at the right time in the right way. She also has more swim anxiety, which is why I don't have a good photo of her in the pool... Jonah is just living his best life and is constantly smiling in the water, which sometimes means he chokes a little. All three improved this year, including Ezra being able to swim half the length of the pool by himself and tread water for a minute.

We're going to be visitingthe city pool quite a bit over the summer as well as at Scout Camp, so getting these lessons in now is a good setup for the next few months. The kids will all be able to swim faster than me at some point, it'll just be a matter of how soon. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

Tornado!

Hello, friends! 

"Looks like the storm will probably miss us..."

"Dome-aha strikes again!"

Those were the messages that Megan and I sent to each other around 2:45pm last Friday. Not too long after that, the tornado sirens went off and for the next few hours, we were glued to the weather coverage, watching, waiting, and praying. 

Ultimately, we were both right. Most of the tornados didn't hit Omaha proper and we specifically weren't in any real danger. However, that doesn't change the fact that the day was absolutely WILD and we're thankful for God's protection. 

In all, 23 tornadoes touched down in the metro area, which includes Omaha, the surrounding suburbs, and Western Iowa. The most damage was done to the cities of Elkhorn and Bennington. Miraculously, there was only one recorded death. Homes were destroyed and communities were devastated, but the limited loss of life is really something incredible. 

I was in Bellevue for lunch with some students in the early afternoon but decided to head home right after just in case the storms got bad. I'm glad that I did because I would not want to be stuck out on the road during the worst of it. Megan and Jonah were already home. 

Our most tense moments came between 3:30-4pm. It was right then that things started to get bad. We normally pick up the kids at 4, so there was a question as to whether the kids would be released from school or not. Megan left early to get to pickup so we could be first in line but it didn't matter. So long as there was a tornado warning, the kids weren't going anywhere. Some parents stayed at school to ride it out but Megan opted to come home. We finally were able to pick them up around 5:30. According to Megan, Thaliea was a hot mess at pickup and Ezra thought it was the best day ever... 

JoJo watch Tarzan 2 and was completely oblivious to all thing (as is often the case). 

Friends, please be praying for our neck of the woods, especially Elkhorn and Bennington as they rebuild. We're thankful that it wasn't worse but still aware there's plenty to do. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam