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Swimming seems to be a subject that I am blogging a lot about lately. Take a look at the pictures and video below and you'll see why. Dillen has gone from not letting go of us in the pool just 2 weeks ago to jumping off the edge with no fear at all. It's all she talks about so it seems to consume a portion of our days. I think it's important to get her in the pool at least once a day while she is at these beginning stages of learning. Of course, Sean has no complaints. ;0)
Yesterday was Dillen's last day of swim lessons, though we have decided to have her continue - hopefully starting again next week. She improved by leaps and bounds with her teacher, Ms. Joanie, and was actually swimming by the end of her lesson. All smiles, Dillen accomplished floating on her back by herself for approximately 5-10 seconds, holding her breath and going to the bottom of the last step to retrieve an object, and "diving" off the side of the pool and swimming approximately 4-5 feet to her teacher. Ms. Joanie was surprised when she went into the Butterfly stroke all by herself and said to me, "You have a smart one there." ;)
We took her to a local pool today and, with Sean, she repeated all of what she learned and more - including having what she called a "bubble party" where the two of them held their breaths, went under water and blew bubbles while looking at each other. She LOVED that... giggling every time she came up. (No matter that she got so excited she puked up her entire hot dog lunch right there on the side of the pool for the life guard on duty to hose down.) Unfortunately, the local pool isn't as warm as the one she was learning in and so Roxy didn't last long. She was done within 5 minutes of getting in but Dillen didn't want to get out even when her lips turned blue and her teeth were chattering. lol. I think next time (probably tomorrow!), I'll send Sean with Dillen and keep Roxy home with me.
Dillen told me yesterday she wants to continue swim lessons and would rather do that then continue her gymnastics class. (At least she didn't say dance.) Perhaps we'll let her do all three if we can swing it.
Dillen has recently insisted she does not need to learn how to read since she 'plays so well.' She tends to want to impress us and hates to disappoint. Because of this, she sometimes becomes frustrated easily when learning new things. She knows all of her letters and the sounds that they make but flusters when we ask her to start making words. She gets the concept but gives up quickly when she makes a mistake - dramatically turning her body away from us and folding her arms in her lap with her head hung low, all while audibly deep sighing. We find this amusing and don't push her... she'll be reading soon enough and in her own time. Still, it's interesting to see this side of her personality and I wonder if it is a trait she will have and perhaps struggle with in her life. When I was growing up, I had similar issues when trying to learn math concepts, foreign languages and music comprehension. I would give up easily the moment I became frustrated or felt I wasn't impressing my teacher. I played to their hearts instead and became the 'teacher's pet' with every one of my elementary teachers except for one. Yikes.
So, no video here of Dillen reading... but enjoy the following 2 minutes of some most excellent play time. :0)
A bit of fun and contemplation on the beach with our littlest princess (Sean's photo talents, of course)...
Yesterday:
Dillen: Mommy, I'm going to pretend to be a caterpillar who goes through a metamorphosis. (Said perfectly!) Are you ready? At which point she breaks out into a beautiful interpretive dance.
Today:
Dillen: Showing me a small rock collection she has hidden inside her desk that she referred to as 'egg sacks,' Mommy, come see my magnum opus! Look here, isn't it beautiful? I love my magnum opuses.
Yes, one of her favorite movies right now is Charlotte's Web and she LOVES butterflies ever since her visits to the butterfly exhibit. It's so awesome to see her integrate her favorite things into her pretend play and everyday conversation.
Dillen started swim lessons today. Though her comfort level in the ocean is extremely high (she gets pummeled by waves and comes up totally soaked from head to toe and belly-laughing) she is more tentative in the pool. She loves to go in but tends to cling to either Sean or me. We signed her up for an intensive program - 9 days almost straight for 30 minutes each time.
When we arrived at the local Club's pool, I was amazed at how many children were there. Four instructors were in the water and each had 3-5 students depending on level. Dillen was placed with two other boys - one who could already swim and another who was a bit more comfortable then Dillen but still new to the idea of swimming. I think this combination worked in our favor. The boys she was placed with were fearless and I think this boosted her confidence. She was also very impressed with Lucas, the one who could already swim, and I think wanted to catch up to what he was doing. Her instructor, Joanie, was fantastic.
She can't wait to go back tomorrow. Yay!
Side note: I love Sean so much. When Dillen came out of the pool, he grabbed a towel, wrapped it around her, bent down and told her exactly what she needed to hear in a very loving voice, "You did such an awesome job. I am very proud of you, Dillen."
Images and video below:
Short snippets:
The day started out EARLY - Roxy woke up around 5:15AM - that's right, it was still kind of dark outside. Fortunately for me, being Mother's Day, Sean was on morning duty. :0) He (with a smile even!) said, "Good morning Roxy. Do you want to go downstairs?" Off he went with her while I snuggled with Dillen and got another hour and a half worth of sleep. Sean and Roxy came up to check on us and when Dillen realized it was Mother's Day she couldn't wait to go downstairs to get the special cards that she and Roxy had made - absolutely perfect (crayon drawings, cut-outs glued, red sparkles on top of the drawn heart and Dillen's hand "writing"). After a solid amount of hugs and kisses were shared, we all got dressed and walked down to one of our favorite restaurants in town, The Naked Cafe, and I ordered up a delicious round of their special of the day: Tropical Pancakes - chock full of bananas, coconut, and pineapple baked right in with a special mango syrup. And I enjoyed a cup of wonderful Fairy Dust tea to go with it. The girls behaved wonderfully well all through breakfast and Roxy even made fast friends with another little one year old sitting directly behind her. After our walk back to the house, we readied ourselves for a special brunch at my mom-in-law's home. Scott (my brother) and his wife (Julie) arrived with the best niece (Liz) and nephew (Sam) anyone could ever ask for and then my mom and her husband (Jim) arrived soon after that. We enjoyed each other's company over a fantastic brunch and dessert, and then opened gifts (I received a beautiful purse, humorous jar, and will enjoy a massage and facial next Sunday!). I handed my little point and click camera to Liz and she captured these (Sean's will come later):
Roxy
Enjoying the GORGEOUS day:
My beautiful Mom:
My beautiful Mom-In-Law:
My beautiful Sis-In-Law:
Later in the day, Scott, Julie, Liz and Sam joined us at our home. Julie and I enjoyed a bit of pampering at the local nail shop. I had a manicure and pedicure (with flowers and sparkle stones put on my toes). Unfortunately, when we returned to the house, I found out that Roxy had missed me while we were gone and she threw a fit for Sean. When we walked in the door, Scott said that Sean was in the backyard with her (Dillen was watching a movie with her cousins). Sure enough, though she was done crying, she was doing that quick/random breathing thing that kids do when they are trying to get over a crying fit. I took her in my arms and she hugged me so hard - her head laying on my shoulder. This was definitely a "mom moment" I won't forget about this Mother's Day. Nothing can come close to that kind of hug. I held her tight and comforted her for over an hour.
We all went outside after Scott, Julie and the kids left to water our NEW LAWN. Yep, we did it. I had all of the big bark crap removed and grass was laid yesterday. It feels soooo good under our feet and it looks great. I'm kicking myself I didn't do this earlier! Now we just have to keep it alive. ;0) The good thing is the girls love to "help" water and with the summer months upon us, getting wet by watering the grass will always be a welcome relief to the heat!
I feel so unbelievably lucky to be a mom. At one point today, Dillen got quiet and sad (I think the amount of people loving on her was a bit overwhelming) and she snuck off by herself. I followed her, put her on my lap and asked her what was wrong. She said, "I just don't want it to be Mother's Day. I don't want to celebrate it." I was a little surprised to hear this but I said, "Well, that's alright Dillen. You don't have to celebrate it but I most definitely will. Because this is a VERY special day for me. If it wasn't for you and Roxy, I wouldn't be a mom and I wouldn't have a special day like this to celebrate. So, it's because of you and your sister that I get to celebrate being a mom. And I am so lucky to have you two as my little girls... it's a wonderful day for me." She was thinking but didn't say anything so I said, "Well, I'm going to go back to the table to celebrate with everyone. You let me know if you change your mind and you want to join us, ok?" I gave her a big hug, set her down and walked out of the room. Not 2 minutes went by and Dillen came up to me holding her legs together. I asked her if she needed to use the bathroom and she said yes. In the bathroom, she said (oh so dramatically), "Mommy? I am so sorry. I am so sorry I said those really mean things to you. I DO want to celebrate Mother's Day and I am so glad you are my mommy. I love you. Will you forgive me?" I'm not making this up. She's such a character. Of course we hugged and all was well with the world again. :0)
For all you Moms out there, HAPPY MOTHER's DAY!
We bought a "pool" the other day for our back yard since the weather was warming up. Dillen stripped down naked immediately and got in so I thought, 'eh, why not' and stripped Roxy down as well.
Dillen, Roxy and I went for a walk the other day to collect sticks and leaves to build a birds nest. Once Dillen and I completed the nest together (lots of creative placement and hot glue), we went to a local toy store to buy a Breezy Singer bird - the Yellow Warbler.
Pretend play in their new dress-up fairy costumes:
Getting clean after some beach fun:
Thank you to Grandma Jane for watching Roxy and bringing gifts:
A very well-loved goat:
Being silly with Daddy:
Back yard fun on a warm day:
Off the cute rating charts:
Well... sort of. ;0)
She's beginning to link two to three words together. She loves saying "Hi" and then tacking on "Baby," "Mommy," "Daddy," and has even almost accomplished "Dillen." And her sing-song way is so pleasant and welcoming.
And today she said, "I love you" for the first time. It sounded a little more like "I lala ooh" but we all know what she meant and she's TRYING! :0) Sometimes her efforts are comical. When I ask her to repeat something I say, she takes an audible deep breath and purses her lips, then develops a concentration face and within 5-10 seconds BLURTS something out. Sometimes she's close and sometimes not so much. But her effort brings great enjoyment for all of us watching.
She is such a little ham and is proving to be quite the little character: She has Dillen's first 16 counts of choreography memorized from the Happy Birthday Princess routine and even finishes with a big "Yay!" and applause for herself. I have to get this on film. I'll try to capture it tomorrow and upload it for some sharing fun. ;0)
So...
Sean was gone for a week - to Samoa. What an amazing trip for him. The pictures he captured are absolutely incredible. You can visit his blog to read diary entries and to view his work: www.slavin.org He's still in the process of updating it, but it's worth a peek!
We, as a couple, have never been apart for more then 4 days - since the day we met! The trip to Samoa was difficult for me because I missed him terribly. However, I had a GREAT time with the girls. We turned the entire week into a slumber party. We enjoyed Legoland with friends; had breakfast for dinner; popcorn and movies; painted our nails; went to the toy store and bought new princess costumes for some wonderful dress-up pretend play; enjoyed the beach with other friends; visited with Grandmas and Uncle Scott; accomplished both gymnastics and dance classes without fail; and decorated the house with signs and balloons for Sean's return. We had such a great time.
AND!
Dillen had a call back for a national commercial for Huggies. It was her first audition/call back. At the initial audition there were hundreds of girls from the ages of 4-5 called. But at the call back there were only 22. Though she didn't book the job, it's amazing that she got so far for her first ever audition! And, in her words, "Mommy, thank you so much for taking me to the audition. This is so much fun!" What's not fun about chasing bubbles, getting stickers and playing with a stuffed tiger? Mind you, this was all new to me - I'm used to auditions, but not for children. I had been warned that I would not be allowed to go with Dillen into the audition room but I wasn't sure how she would react. I had prepped her beforehand, but when the time came... I just wasn't sure if she would be up for leaving me (and I am determined not to turn into a "stage-mother" forcing her into something she doesn't want to do). To my surprise, she has grown into a VERY independent little girl. At the first audition, when her name was called, she said, "Ok Mommy, you have to stay here. You can't come in. See you later!" And off she ran with the 'child-wrangler.' At the second audition, the wrangler came out of the room and had her choose a sticker and asked her to go with her. Dillen turned to me with a big smile and said, "See you soon!"
It's so awesome to me to see her enjoy this so much. She's such an outgoing, friendly, talented little girl. That being said, both trips to Los Angeles totaled over 5 hours drive-time. Unfortunately, this took a toll on Dillen. She did have movies in the car to watch but it proved to be too much for her - and for me. I had to let her agent know that we need to stick to local auditions for the time-being. When she has more patience or if she shows continued interest, we will rethink the long drive to LA.
Pictures coming soon... for some reason I am having difficulty uploading. Rrg.