Swim lessons

We're making headway; he's doing great in swim lessons, and has made lots of progress.  He finished his first set of Red Cross lessons doing most things, but not putting his head in the water yet.  We started his second set of lessons last week (second one was today), and today he put his face in the water repeatedly blowing bubbles. 

His only problem is that he marches so much to the beat of his own drummer that he has trouble listening at times.  If he doesn't want to try something, "I'm not ready."  If he's having fun, no amount of reminds from an instructor (or me) will get him to stop taking off with his noodle across the pool.

However, the reason that I'm going to have to embarrass him as a teenager happened after class:  We were going to visit a friend and her new baby after class, so to hasten our changing after class, instead of taking him to the lockerroom, I had him hold his towel around him while I changed him.  Don't be worried - there were maybe two people in the whole facility, and neither of them was paying a lick of attention to us.  Good thing.  Just as I was about to replace his diaper, he very theatrically (don't know where he gets that) threw his arms (and towel) open, yelling, "Surprise!......Happy Birthday!" at the top of his lungs.  In all his glory.

A poem of yesterday

I like boys.  I like girls.
I like mermaids.  I like vikings.
I kind of like dragons.

yes, I painted his toenails...

"My pink toes will find the Hobgoblin and the Green Goblin and their pumpkins!"

He is, as I type, standing on an exercise bike that I should be riding giving a diatribe about a myriad of subjects.  They are, as you can see, both interesting and varied.  That might be my favorite quote of the whole thing, though.

Message received - got it.

This busy season's been tough on our family, and we're really missing Steven.  A little man doesn't understand very well why he doesn't get to see Daddy.  In fact, today he popped out with, "Someday he's going to come home, but not today."  Ooh.

The other day when we were riding bikes, Aidan was asking what Daddy does at work.  After a little struggle of explaining a tax accountant to a person who really doesn't understand even what money is, I landed on, "He helps people with their money."  He liked that; being very into heroes, it struck a chord with him.  He told his grandma on the phone, "Daddy helps people - he helps with their money."  Perfect.

Today at school we were talking to one of the teachers about what her daddy does (policeman - very cool).  I asked Aidan to tell her what his daddy does.  "Everything."  I asked again.  "Everything."  I knew he had "helps people with their money" in his pocket, so I asked one more time.  "Everything.  Everything!  Are you hearing my words?  Everything." 

Swim lessons

The first lesson was Monday and was somewhat successful.  There are three tadpoles and two guppies (next class up), and those classes go at the same time.  He tried all of the things they wanted him to, even if tentatively.  He jumped in, as long as his face didn't go in the water, he kicked his legs, he made ice cream scoops with his hands - he was in it.  However, he did not react well when other children were kicking and he'd get splashed in the face.  Patience, his instructor who is clearly named in onomatopoeia, was great about distracting him with something new when he'd get upset and suggested that we bring his swim goggles to Wednesday's lessons. 

So we did.  Last night we went to the second lesson, Spidey goggles in hand (they work fashionably for many occasions).  Lesson is a half hour long.  It took my child 15 minutes to join the class.  He didn't want to.  He wanted to watch his friends.  Ugh.  Got a little better throughout the lesson, and by the end he didn't want to leave.  Figures.  It does make me glad, though, that we're doing these lessons - obviously, they're needed. 

"I think it means riding bikes!"

This weekend we were at the grocery store and saw the magic doors, the ones that open automatically.  We noticed them, and I asked whether he'd like to make them open.  "Sure!"  He said, "I think we need to use some magic words."  I told him that was a great idea and asked which ones we should use.  "Abre!"  My child asked the doors to open in Spanish?  He officially knows more Spanish than his dad, who took four years of it in high school.

Then yesterday, as I was pedaling him home from the park pulling his chariot behind me (even he calls it that now), he was talking to his grandma on my cell phone.  Out of nowhere I hear, "Oh my gosh!"  I've never heard him say that before, and it kind of struck me funny.  Sadly, I was terribly out of breath pedaling after a weekend of working in the garden and couldn't really laugh like I wanted to.  I digress.  Over the next several blocks, I heard him say it several more times.  Odd.  Then I heard, "Mommy, what does, 'Oh my gosh' mean?"  I asked him, "What do you think it means?"  "I think it means riding bikes."  I told him it was more like, "Wow!"  "Oh."  Back to conversation with Grandma as though it never happened.

This morning, as we drove to school, Aidan yelled to no one in particular, "Oh my gosh!"  Again, "Mommy, what does, 'Oh my gosh' mean?"  Again, "What do you think it means?"  "I think it means, 'Oh, what a beautiful morning!'"  I told him it could mean that, but it was really a little more like a Wow!  "No, Mommy; it means, 'Oh, what a beautiful morning!'"  Seriously?  Oh, what a beautiful morning?  I was thrown enough at the, "Oh my gosh!" much less the "Oh, what a beautiful morning!" 

Who is this kid?  Is this how we roll now?

five days....we can do it!

It's only five days until busy season's over, and we miss our Daddy something fierce.  He's working until midnight more often than not, late on weekends too.  There are only five days left until April 15, though, well, six - we really get him back April 16.  We can make it.

We have some very fun things planned here right quick, to spend time together as a family, so if we can just make it a few days more, all will be well.