Pooling

There is no doubt that my two kids love the water.  Their relationship with it is a little different though.  Ollie loves to be in the pool, and he is not hesitant at all about going underwater and can hold his breath for a long time.  He won't, however, let go of me if he's in water that he can't easily stand in.  I've gotten him to do so with a small float, but not with just arm floaties that require him to do a little work to keep himself above water.  He won't jump off a step in the pool or the side of the pool unless he can reach my hands.  And yet -- he'll go down water slides and two of my parents' houses -- one into deep water that requires an adult to grab him after he kicks away from the drop off.  It's not at all logical -- but then, he's not quite four.  He's done well in swim lessons, and I think that with continued time in the water, he'll eventually get the courage to let go and try to swim.  One pool in particular at my parents' house was really good for this.  It was maybe 1-2 feet deep, and it allowed Oliver to jump on his belly, kick and stroke a little, and then be able to put his feet down on his own.  He was in the water, underwater, and on his own most of the time when we were in the pool.

Emme, on the other hand, has no fear -- almost to her own detriment.  She'll walk around in shallow water, jump from ledges whether someone's ready to catch her or not (if she hears "jump," she goes).  She'll put herself or just her face underwater and then stand up if able (I always tried to let her do it herself before grabbing her).  She's learning to close her mouth, but not her eyes, or blow bubbles in the water.  But mostly -- she just wants in.  We were in the pool every day for the last four days, and she had swimming lessons the two days before that this past week.  For kids who don't have regular access to the water, that's a lot!  I think it landed her with a cold, but it didn't deter her from wanting to swim.  She'll go in the deep water with a float and be on it without anyone holding on.  She can kick her legs and even move her arms some to stroke.  She even went down the tiny water slide at one pool.  She's definitely a water bug. I'm hoping she doesn't lose her bravery as she gets older.

Summer's third day of fun

Yesterday, the kids stayed home from daycare so a friend and I could take them to Nashville Shores for the day.  Two years ago, my friend Rachel and I had taken Oliver to Wave Country -- it's a cheaper, smaller version of Nashville Shores, and for the age he was (and the fact that I was pregnant with Emmeline at the time), it was great. But I wanted to try out the bigger park.  I knew I couldn't do it by myself, so I recruited my friend Robin from school, who has always been great with the kids and is also a big water person.

I did a little planning ahead so that the day would go smoothly.  I decided to rent a cabana -- a little pricey, but not bad during the week.  It also includes two tubes and a locker, which makes the cost of the actual space about half.  And it was worth it to me to have protected, shaded space all day.  I knew if we were going to make it more than two hours, I would need somewhere to let the kids rest in the shade.  The park doesn't let you bring in food or water other than bottled water, so I got some of that (and froze it -- it was supposed to get over 100 degrees), and then packed some food to eat in the picnic area of the parking lot.  I wanted to make sure the kids had plenty to eat at lunch without spending a fortune for the three of us.

We were up and readying after 7am on Thursday.  We left the house about 9:30, picked up Robin, and made it to the park just as it opened.  I sent Robin ahead to let the kids start playing while I waited in a highly inefficient line to be "escorted" to our cabana.  I'd gotten one near the kids play area, and it turned to also be central to the park, making it easy to walk the kids to different areas.  We spent the morning in the kids' splash area -- complete with small water slides, different kinds of fountains and spray areas, and even little swings for Emmeline.  We did the wave pool (with and without waves) and the Lazy River.

Around noon, we took a break to eat lunch.  It was really easy to just step out, have some food, and come right back in.  It also let the kids warm up -- strangely, they were cold from the water, even in the heat of the day!  After lunch we went back to the Lazy River, since Oliver liked it so much.  We had tubes that came with the cabana, and the park provides life vests for free.  Between their hats, long rash guards, swim shoes, and life vests, they both looked like mini-adventurers ready for white water rafting.  We went around the Lazy River four times, I think, and Emme actually fell asleep on it.  Robin and Oliver made another stop at the Wave Pool while I took Emme back to the cabana to nap.  She was dead asleep while I carried her back, her head bobbing up around her life vest, but then was wide awake when I laid her down.

We took a brief rest from the sun and then headed over to the area with the bigger water slides, which also held three pool of varying size and depth.  There was another small water slide for Oliver, and even Emme could touch in two of the pools, which she really liked.  We enjoyed it for a while and then, sensing an impending breakdown (and nearly six hours in the sun), decided to head home.  I did treat everyone to ice cream before we left, which I'd promised Oliver the day before.  The kids both started fussing as we left, the tired setting in, but we got to the car with little hassle.  Emme was asleep before we made it back to the highway, while Oliver sang and chatted us up.

I tried to lay Emme down when we got home, and she did sleep for a little while.  Oliver agreed to go to bed early if he didn't have to nap, and that turned out to be a fine choice.  They both got a little ornery at dinner, throwing raisins on the floor.  They were in bed by 6:45 and fell asleep shortly thereafter, and both slept until after 7am this morning, which is "sleeping in" for them.  It appeared that we'd done a great job shielding them from the sun, but it's since become clear that my sunscreen job on Oliver was a little spotty.  I think I avoided right around his eyes in hopes of not getting it in them (it was aerosol spray, and I was putting it on my hands and then wiping it on his face and ears), and consequently he got a little sunburn there.  I'm hoping with plenty of lotion and no additional exposure, it won't last long.

For the cost of the park -- tickets, parking, and so forth -- I don't know that I'd go back again this summer, and I definitely can only go with another adult.  That said, it's a fantastic park, and I will take them back next summer.  Going on a hot weekday seemed to be key -- thinner crowds, the kids didn't get cold out of the water.  Packing a lunch and having the kids wear swim shoes were both really helpful.  Taking kids on these kinds of outings are definitely a lot of work, but so much fun!

Pomp and circumstance

His certificate

Oliver "graduated" swim school yesterday.  He just did a block of lessons, three days last week and four days this week.  He did the same class as last year, an introductory one.  They recommend the class for ages three and up, and he was only 2 1/2 when he did it last year.  Plus he cried the first day or two, and so it took him some time to get used to it.  I probably could have moved him up, but since we did the class at the beginning of the summer, I wasn't sure how comfortable he would be.  I may sign him up for the Beginner 1 class later this summer, when Emme does her lessons.

Ollie is doing really well in the water now.  He is still very hesitant on his back, but I could see him get slowly more comfortable over the course of the lessons.  He's not all afraid to get his face wet, go underwater, or even be by himself in the water for a short time.  I'm trying to get him to let go of me in the water now, either with floaties or a life vest on.  I know kids don't learn to swim with those devices, but I only use them a little, just to encourage his independence and get used to being separated from me.  I think by the end of this summer, with enough time in the water, he might be able to paddle a short way.  I'm hoping that by next summer he'll be able to make it a short distance on his own, lifting his head to breathe.  It's hard teaching a kid to swim when they have such inconsistent access to the water, but I want to make sure all of them learn eventually, even if it's not their sport or favorite thing to do.

His t-shirt, which he wore to school today

Emme was supposed to do the parent and child class with me at the same time as Oliver's class, but her leg has healed so slowly that Wes didn't want her in the water.  Unfortunately, that meant several days of baby wrangling (and with Emme, it's fair to call it wrangling) in a warm, humid, wet space.  We rescheduled her for later in the summer.  She loves the water, and unlike Oliver, has absolutely no fear of it (to her own detriment, I fear!).  I think she'll really like getting in, so long as I can keep her warm enough in the cool water.

Most exciting to Oliver in this class -- his friend Curtis from daycare was in the same swim class, and his friend Keegan came the session after!

Summer's first day of fun

Our summer days of fun have officially begun.  The kids stayed home from daycare on Friday -- in part so I could play with them, and in part because Emme had been running a low fever all week  along with her runny nose.  The kids were up very early, as per usual recently.  ("The sunshine waked me up.")  Wes had a departmental retreat at the zoo on Friday, and no other reason than it made me think of it, we decided to go to the zoo also.

Emme seemed sleepy by 8am but refused a nap when I laid her down.  We were at the zoo by 9:30, just behind several school buses on kids on field trips (ugh).  I decided to see how bad it was before giving up, and once we got through the congested entrance area, it wasn't bad.  The kids played for a long while on the playground, rode the carousel, fed the lorikeets, visited the snake house, and petted some goats.  The kids had a great time, but Emme was absolutely exhausted by the time we left.  We actually ran into Wes and his coworkers on our way out and said a quick hello.  Emme was asleep before we got to the first stoplight.

We got home and had lunch, and I put both the kids down for a nap.  Neither one fell asleep, which was troubling given how tired Emme had been.  I gave in after an hour and let them come down and get in the swimming pool, which I'd inflated and filled during lunch so the water could warm.  The kids had so much fun. Emme tried to drink half the pool water and had fun with the balls and cups I put in.  Oliver repeatedly jumped from outside of the pool into the water, while I encouraged him to put him face under the water, blow bubbles, and lay on his back.  After a little over an hour, Emme asked to go and lie down.  She did without a fuss and slept for almost two hours before we got her up for dinner.  I had to drag Ollie out of the water after two plus hours and then literally carry him inside to get changed.  Both of the kids seem to really like the water.  Oliver likes playing in it more, whereas Emme is more bold and less fearful of going underwater.  (She's truly unsafe in the tub if it's too full.)

Wes got home a little before six, and we had dinner and put the kids down early after a good bath (swimming in an inflatable tub does not leave them clean, per se).  They both slept very well and took good naps on Saturday.  We got the pool out again on Sunday, but it was cooler and Emme didn't last long in the chilly water.  I still had to drag Oliver out, even as he sat chattering in the water.

So summer is here, and I look forward to having these spontaneous fun days at home, in addition to more relaxed weekends.  We did a fair amount of traveling last summer, which we're not this year, and I'm glad.  Home, sweet, home, indeed.

The pool guy

This is from several weeks ago, which anyone in the Tennessee or Georgia area knows, since it's in the low 60's today and definitely not pool weather.  I kind of regret getting this thing instead of another little plastic one, since it takes up so much water to really play in and space in the garage when not being used, but it does make it possible for me to get in with Oliver and, once really warm, Emmeline.  I'm sure it won't last more than the summer, though, with rocks and a dog in the yard.

Ollie starts swimming lessons for this summer in a little over a week.  This is one without me, so we'll see how he does.  I think he'll be fine, but it might take a session or two for him to relax.  I considered having him doing it a second time at the end of the summer just to give him more exposure, but we're traveling three times this summer to family members who have access to pools in their neighborhood, so hopefully he can get adequate time there.

Like school on Saturday

Oliver and I have spent some more Summer of Fun Days together.  In our second week, Ollie stayed home from daycare three days, and we had some fun outings.  On Tuesday and Thursday, we went to classes at local play places.  On Tuesday we tried out a music class at Gymboree, and on Thursday we tried out a fitness class at Little Gym.  Both places offer free first classes, so we went to see if it was something we would like to do this fall.  Both are located in towns south of Nashville, so it was a little bit of an outing, and both classes ran up against lunch and naptime, which can be dangerous (Oliver falls asleep in the car and then has trouble taking an actual nap after lunch).  But I thought it would be worth a try.

Oliver liked both classes well enough.  The class at Gymboree was a little more structured, and there were a lot of songs and movement that, if you didn't know them ahead of time, were hard to learn in one class.  Oliver kept staring at the woman running the class like, "Why don't you stop singing and just let us play on all these cool things."  It made me laugh because it reminded me so much of Wes and what he would have thought had he been there.  Oliver liked Gymboree a little better, which offers some structure and lots of rotating options, but lots of freedom to do and try whatever he liked.  He had a few problems in sharing with others -- something I don't think has problems with at daycare, where he knows all the other kids -- but he got over it quickly enough.  Given the option, I'd love it if I could use either facility on a drop-in basis -- when I have time to take him and other options are not available.  The costs of the class are a little high, the trip is a little long to get there, and part of me feels like I'm paying someone else to teach me how to play with my own child.

That Wednesday, Oliver and I went to storytime at the local library.  It includes music, movement, stories being read, and puppets.  Oliver was very content to sit on my lap and watch for a bit over 30 minutes, but then his attention waned, so we left.  There's a beautiful children's section there in the main library, which hopefully we'll get back to in time.

I think I would be bigger in getting Oliver into a class structure at one of these facilities or being a regular at storytime were he not already in a fairly structured environment at daycare.  He knows his teachers and classmates, and he seems to do very well there.  He did also have another class situation -- a parent and child swim class at the Vanderbilt Student Recreation Center.  We were there for 9 classes over two weeks.  It, unfortunately, also met at a bad time -- 5:30-6:00 PM, which meant we weren't getting home until 6:30 PM.  One of Oliver's classmates from daycare was also in the class, and the two were almost beside themselves with excitement over seeing each other there.  Oliver did great -- the teacher recommended that he, like the other children, move on to the next class next summer, one that is completely instructor-run (read: no mommy in the water) -- and he seemed to really enjoy it and get more comfortable.  He even learned was "scoop hands" are!

So for now Ollie and I have no class.  Come late August, I will have more than I know what to do with!