One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish* (and a cautionary note)

Last year the girls were kind of wary of the pool. They liked the idea of water, but we had to be RIGHT THERE, preferrably holding as many squirmy body parts as possible, or else.

This year they've been taking lessons again -- well not so much lessons as a huge toddler-free-for-all in a big vat of chlorine -- and they've suddenly decided they don't need us.

Ree got it first. She figured out that with the floaty styrofoam block strapped to her back and a swim noodle under her arms, she was invincible! And that was the end of parental involvement, as far as she was concerned.

Ro got there the next week. And now they're swimmin' fools -- lurching erratically but happily around the pool while waving hands in our faces saying "No touch! I do it myyyyyy self!" This weekend they start the next level of swim class. The one where we don't get in the pool with them. (Just saying this makes my face wince up and bad suspenseful music play mockingly in my head.) We'll see how it goes... Of course I am freaky overprotective and imagine the worst, so I made poor TubaDad go shopping with me until we found little swimsuits with zip-in inflatable inserts. That way nothing can fall off or slip out of their hands if the teacher looks the other direction, or turns and sneezes, or breathes wrong or whatever. Heh heh.

Oh, and my mom asked if I'd be wearing my swimsuit under my shorts while sitting on the sidelines and I had to sheepishly answer in the affirmative. I know, I know, but they might need me! Here are our two fish, ready to to tear it up last week (in the non-inflatable swim suits). Ree had picked out new shoes at Target and said "deez are peh-shul, dey match my soo-im-ee-suit" (these are special, they match my swimming suit) and Ro had on her too-small Skechers that she loves more than any other shoe.



Go get 'em girls! I'll try not to embarrass you (or your daddy) while I'm sitting on the bench.

* Yes, technically our little swimmers are wearing pink and blue, not red and blue, but unfortunately Dr. Seuss didn't write any catchy titles about pink and blue fish.

Caution: don't let the excessive cuteness fool you For everyone who wonders if the girls ever do anything wrong, this note is for you. The above swimliciousness was almost ready to go, I was just going to do a quick proofread and add the picture after picking the girls up from preschool. But they got in trouble AGAIN in school today! #$%@!! One of them kicked and the other one threw sand (I honestly don't remember who did what, and it doesn't really matter), and both of them ripped books. They've always been incredibly active and kind of wily about getting into everything they weren't supposed to, but until this point they were pretty darn easy going and also easy to redirect. But this is the third time in a row I've picked them up and gotten frowning reports from the preschool teachers. And the make-your-blood-pressure-skyrocket behavior isn't just confined to school. It started when TubaDad was away on that last business trip, and at first I thought they were just acting out because they missed him. But he's been home awhile now and the defiance and incredibly selective hearing has continued. I have a baaaaaaad feeling this is the new phase and it's not going away any time soon. I know all phases pass (and then come again and then pass again and then...), and obviously we'll be working on good behavior in the meantime, but if you've got any extra patience lying around (or a huge bag of chocolate), please send it over here. I desperately need it.