Swimming Lessons

Despite Happy appearances in this picture, Kate wasn't very fond of her first swimming lesson. She wasn't very fond of her second one either. In the past, Kate has loved being in the pool. She'll splash, blow bubbles, jump in from the side and even let us dunk her under the water. Because she's never been afraid and always loved the water, we thought that swimming lessons would be fun for her this Summer. But, there is something about the "lesson" part of it that she just doesn't like; that actually seems to make her afraid. To be fair, at then end of the second lesson today she started to have some fun. She actually moved from the stairs into the pool for two minutes and she learned a new game that she really liked a lot. I just asked her if she was excited to go to swimming tomorrow and she said, "Yes, but I'm not going under!" Two weeks ago at our hotel pool she would go under. It almost seems like the pressure of the "lesson" is too much for her. At the same time, I have absolutely no idea how to teach her to swim and I'd love some help. I'm just putting this all out there, wondering whether or not we should keep taking her? I want her to learn to swim, but I also want her to have fun... If it's not fun, should we persist? Any thoughts?

Happy Father's Day!

Choices, Choices, Choices

Occasionally, my dear husband leaves for work in a hurry. Today was one such day. We have no coffee in the house and we're still recovering from our trip. So, with no lunch in hand and no coffee in his system, he offered a quick kiss and ran out the door. We went about our morning changing diapers, getting dressed and straightening up a bit. And then, about 20 minutes after he left, I heard the door open. "Who the heck?!!" I thought to myself. I instructed the children quietly to wait right there and slowly peaked around the corner only to see Mr. Awesome standing there with my favorite coffee drink in hand, grinning from ear to ear.

Isn't he sweet?

On a different topic, I was trying to redirect Kate the other day through giving her choices. The following conversation ensued:

M: Kate, would you rather stop ___ (I can't remember what) or spend some time alone in your room?

K: No, those aren't my choices. I will give you some choices.

Indeed, she then proceeded to offer us some choices:

K: mmmmm... You could give me M&Ms or let me stay here!