COMING SOON
Where has the time gone? We're not sure but, here we are.... Anna - 91/2 months old already and Hallie - a precocious 4 1/2. Anna is almost walking on her own (for more than 3 or 4 steps at a time) and wants to feed herself with a spoon and use the computer. Hallie has learned to swim with a kick board, is about to graduate from preschool and is headed to kindergarten in the fall. She changes her mind daily as to what she wants to do when she grows up and we love it! The best part.... they are happy, healthy and they like (or should we say LOVE) each other better than ever!
For the third year, the high school swim team held a fundraiser to offset their summer costs. So for a few dollars and eight afternoons, children (mostly those of district employees) were provided with one-on-one swimming lessons. Hallie was lucky enough to have the same teacher she had last year and she literally jumped right in! It's fun to see the progression of photos and movies from ages 2-4. At 2, every time her teacher tried to get her to jump off the side she shook her head, negotiated and sat down on the side. At 3 she would jump in a few times but clung to the teacher's neck for a good part of the time. This year, at 4, Hallie was tall enough to walk in the shallow end and, though she regressed in the area of jumping, she would hold her breath, put her face under and stroke and kick while trailing the teacher. She learned to kick off from the wall and with the help of a kick board, she can kick off the bottom and make it all the way across the pool! We are going to have to spend more casual time in the pool this summer so she can explore and experiment on her own.After a few days, we realized 
Anna was chomping at the bit to get in the water. She even let practical strangers walk her over to the pool's edge! Anything to get there and splash a bit. We broke down and put her in her suit, shed our shoes and waded with her on the steps. You'd think that would be good enough for a baby who's never been in recreational water. Nope. We neglected to consider the 'big sister factor'. If we weren't holding her, she would have leaped out into the abyss to catch up with her idol. She much preferred our leaving the steps and hanging her into the water from poolside. So after swirling her around and dunking her proved to be less than satisfactory, and Hallie's lesson was done, the teacher scooped Anna into her arms and swirled her and splashed with her while walking and bobbing around the pool.
Anna was chomping at the bit to get in the water. She even let practical strangers walk her over to the pool's edge! Anything to get there and splash a bit. We broke down and put her in her suit, shed our shoes and waded with her on the steps. You'd think that would be good enough for a baby who's never been in recreational water. Nope. We neglected to consider the 'big sister factor'. If we weren't holding her, she would have leaped out into the abyss to catch up with her idol. She much preferred our leaving the steps and hanging her into the water from poolside. So after swirling her around and dunking her proved to be less than satisfactory, and Hallie's lesson was done, the teacher scooped Anna into her arms and swirled her and splashed with her while walking and bobbing around the pool. Now, I'm not positive but, I think we have another water baby on our hands.
She is signing the word bath a little now when she hears the word, as did Hallie at this age, and if the bathroom door is left open she is upright, tub side, banging on the edge and trying to climb over the edge. She likes bubbles, having her hands washed (as long as we remember not to squish her stomach over the edge of the sink) and likes to be sprayed or squirted with water - even if it gets her in the face. This of course poses a challenge to us as we are making sure the four year old can get to the bathroom in time or to prepare for bed yet we need to close the door to keep out the littlest mermaid. I just wish these challenges didn't come so fast. I'm thrilled at how quickly (and, I might add, ahead of the curve) the girls develop, explore and meet their milestones but we can't seem to get a grip before they move on and throw down the next gauntlet. It's never gonna happen, is it? Didn't think so.
She is signing the word bath a little now when she hears the word, as did Hallie at this age, and if the bathroom door is left open she is upright, tub side, banging on the edge and trying to climb over the edge. She likes bubbles, having her hands washed (as long as we remember not to squish her stomach over the edge of the sink) and likes to be sprayed or squirted with water - even if it gets her in the face. This of course poses a challenge to us as we are making sure the four year old can get to the bathroom in time or to prepare for bed yet we need to close the door to keep out the littlest mermaid. I just wish these challenges didn't come so fast. I'm thrilled at how quickly (and, I might add, ahead of the curve) the girls develop, explore and meet their milestones but we can't seem to get a grip before they move on and throw down the next gauntlet. It's never gonna happen, is it? Didn't think so.
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