Beautiful, funny Ro, right out of the swimming pool

* Photo info: Nikon D300 camera, Nikon 35mm lens, no flash, there really wasn't any light since it was 7pm and we were inside the house, and also I had my ISO too low, oh well. I bumped up the exposure a bit in Lightroom and did a square crop but didn't have time to do any other photo editing.

By George, I think she's got it

After months of diffidently watching her sister submerge her head under water, Ree has finally taken the plunge. Yesterday, for the first time ever, she willingly jumped into the pool all by herself (over and over). It probably doesn't sound like any big deal to anyone else, but we are so beyond thrilled over here. We were starting to think it wasn't going to happen. I had to order an immediate poolside mojito to celebrate.

Ree has always been a little reticent about the water—loving to play and swim in it for hours, but only as long as she could keep her head relatively dry. Her sister, on the other hand, swims like a rowdy little fish, and is happiest when her head gets totally covered by the water and she can snort and blow like a baby whale. We never made an issue of it, in part because we try and try and try to remember that even though the girls are twins they are still two separate kiddos and, just like any two kids, will learn and develop at different rates. Easy to type, hard to live by, especially when you're a worrier and any little thing that one twin can do and the other one can't is just something new to analyze to death and stress about. (Yeah, I'm working on the not-stressing part.)

Anyhow, the other reason we never made an issue of it, was because we knew if we did little Ree was just stubborn enough to dig her heels in and refuse to ever get in the water again. Well that's one worry down (and only about three hundred million to go before they're off to college)—whew! Here's is the brave Teeny Mareeny and her splash-happy sister Ro:


(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuBCGq8S9XQ)

And here are a few more pics from our lovely 100+ degree day at the pool. Ahhhhhh.


The girls are wearing their new swimsuits from Osh Kosh, and I'm wearing my new swim cover-up from Target (Like anyone cares what I'm wearing, haha. It's just that I love this light, floaty, ruffly thing and thought you guys might need one too. You can wear it like this or pull it down to your waist, pair it with a nice white blouse and wear it as a kicky ankle-length skirt. Fun!)

Ro's newest pool trick

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o_2TUjNQs4)

Twirly, whirly dresses. Just because.

When you're three, I guess you just don't need anything other than some ice, your sister, and a pretty twirly dress to have hours of fun. Seriously, hours. And I am not owning up to how many pictures I snapped of these two playing during those hours. It's probably hard to believe, but this is the severly edited-down set. Today, I'm going to take a page out of their book and have fun instead of stressing about the million little things that usually make me uptight. I'm going to smile and laugh and just enjoy the people I love, and I'm going to wear a pretty dress even if no one sees me in it. Who's with me?! * Photog info: These pics were taken with the Nikon D300, my new Nikon 35mm lens (which I'm loving), and a mix of Programmed Mode and Manual Mode (I was going back and forth playing with Manual and trying to learn it). Oh, and Ro is in the blue and Ree is in the orange.

Has anyone figured out how to get three-year-olds to sit still while you do their hair?

'Cause I haven't. That's why you so often see the quick, easy little side ponytail on the top of Ro and Ree's heads. Keeps the hair out of their faces, lasts all day long through twinado-force roughhousing, and only takes about six seconds to do. This morning I tried something new with Ro. We called it Split Rainbow Ponies, and I'm kinda liking it. It was a new variation on Ro's old fave hairdo called Rainbow Ponies. If you want to try it, mist all of the hair with a spray bottle. Make a row of three small ponytails in the front and secure them with rubberbands (the only ones we use are Kid Connection bands from Walmart, seriously, they rock). Then split each front-row pony in half and join it with its neighboring half of a pony and a little bit of new hair. The new hair anchors the pony. I made four ponies for the second row. I would have liked to make a third row, but Ro announced we were done, so we stopped there and were all happy. I used one color of bands for the first row and a different color for the second row. And since this was the first time trying this hairdo, I didn't get it as smooth as I should have (hence the little clump of snarly hair in the first picture). But hey, any hairdo that stays in the girls' slippery hair all through preschool and only takes a few minutes to do is a big win in this house. I'll definitely do this one again.

Some free advice

If you stumble across a water play area, and you don't have a change of clothes or even a towel, then for pete's sake do not—I repeat DO NOT—believe your children when they promise to just dip their toes in and not really get wet.

Book Review: The Painter from Shanghai

Have you read this book "The Painter from Shanghai," by Jennifer Cody Epstein? I'm participating in the virtual book tour and got the opportunity to review the book and blog about it. Cool beans. First, I should confess that I LOVE reading, but am certainly not your typical book reviewer. I used to be able to read an entire book in one day (oh the luxury), but now, with two three-year-olds at the helm, only get to read tiny little bits at a time. Sometimes it can take a month just to finish one book. And the ones that don't immediately grab my attention are carelessly set down, buried in kid debris, and never picked back up. Not the case with this book. The Painter from Shanghai was an interesting read from page one to page 408. I was drawn in by the intricate settings, the captivating characters, the rich language and imagery that Epstein used, and especially the interesting artistic observations and lessons. I also found myself returning again and again to the vivid descriptions of China, both physical and cultural. The story is based on the life of Pan Yuliang, China's foremost female post-impressionist painter (although she protested the insertion of the word "female" in that descriptor). It's a frank look at the tragedies and triumphs of Yuliang's life and her emergence as an artist. You can see some of her paintings here, if you're curious like I was. The Painter from Shanghai isn't a puffy, light, summer read. Pan Yuliang's life was not easy, not at any point, but it's a fascinating story of a unique, daring woman and one that I'd highly recommend. It's interesting how many of the casual artistic observations in the book apply to so many things in life. As one example, when Yuliang's art teacher extends her an astonishing invitation to attend the Shanghai Art Academy, he interupts her protestations with "My dear, one of the first things you must learn, if you are to enter this terrible field, is to ration out your anxieties—and there will be many—to where they're truly needed." So true! You can find the book in any of the big bookstores, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders. If you've already read it, I'd love to hear what you thought, good or bad. And I'd also like to get your recommendations for other book titles to add to the must-read list this summer.

Happy Father's Day!

TubaDad got to sleep in today while the girls and I made him breakfast in bed and "signed" his card. Well, actually, the girls scribbled vigorously the whole time while I made breakfast and wrapped the presents. I think the biggest hits were the pink duct tape, the spicy jalapeno crackers, and the big red shovel (at least among the three-year-old crowd). As an extra-special (heh heh) father's day present for TubaDad, I'm going to share this video (taken Friday) of his dear sweet daughters dancing by the pool. Holy moly, I can't decide whether to die laughing or just plain die picturing them in college. Where on earth did Ree learn these moves?!!! Happy Father's Day to TubaDad, to my dad (who is in hog heaven on an antique auto trip right now), to Pa, and to all the dads out there. May your days start with sleeping in and be filled with sticky hugs and funny kid-felt gifts. PS: We also made Catherine breakfast in bed, and have about two million cute pics and stories from the pool, the aquarium, and the beach that I'll have to do a catch-up post on shortly.