Long Summer Days

I feel like I should be updating, but there's not a whole lot to update. As the long HOT summer drones on, I have sadly not been very creative, so our time inside is spent playing or watching TV, and if we dare go outside, it's to the pool.
Ellie went swimming for the first time last week and has been in a few times since. The doctor recommended not swimming until 6 months when John was born. It's just been so hot, I can't bear to see her miserable and sweating in the nasty heat. He had mentioned that it was due to body temperature regulation, and I imagine it's harder to regulate in the crazy hot air than the bath water in the pool. She really doesn't like it or dislike it so far as I can tell.
John still refuses to swim without his life jacket, although he can. We've got two water guns he's been drooling over, but not tempting enough to try for the dive sticks again. He's just got to make up his mind and he'll be unstopable (a little scary for me). I can't remember if I've mentioned Eve's swimming skill, but she's given swimming without a life jacket a shot. She hovers right about eye level in the pool and kind of spins around trying to swim. Her eyes are a little wide when she does it, but she isn't panicking, so I figure it's good for her to see that's OK and that we'll grab her before it gets too scary. For some reason she won't jump in anymore, even with her lifejacket. I feel like we've gotten some good momentum, though, so we'll definitely have to make a point to hit the pool at the Y once the neighborhood pool closes.
At home Eve is really testing the limits, per the 2-year-old requirement. She's really a little booger because she laughs through discipline and even asks "please" for it when she repeats the offense. She rarely gets upset, and if she does once, she makes sure she doesn't break the second time. On the fun side, she's become quite the solitaire hide and seek player. It goes like this...she hides under a blanket and says "1, 2, 3, 9, 10, not, here I come, I found me!".
John had a rotten week after Bible school, which makes me glad we didn't sign him up for 5-day preschool. I think he was just too tired. I was so proud of him yesterday, though. We were at my friend Claire's house in Charlotte. She made brownies for my birthday, which he ate on the porch. When he finished, he brought his dish inside, looked for Claire, and completely unprompted said "Miss Claire, the brownies were very yummy. Thank you for cooking them." Gosh, they make your heart melt sometimes!
Ellie is still such a sweet little thing. She's still sleeping a lot, screams in terror when she hears Eve's voice (can't say I blame her at this point), smiles her sweet little smile when she wakes up in the morning, and even sometimes lets me sleep through the night. If she wakes up, she eats just a little around 4 or 5 usually and is asleep before she finishes. Then she wakes up in the best mood. She really is a doll.
I did have a birthday this week. There's not much sweeter than 2 of 3 kids running in to wake you up in the morning saying "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!" John didn't even need a reminder.