Summer is officially in full swing and to keep cool, Samantha and Amelia have been testing out nearly every water source in town.
The girls have been taking swim lessons once a week for a few weeks now and totally dig it. Amelia was a little apprehensive at first, but slowly warmed up, thanks to the charisma and non-stop energy of their fun teacher, Miss Carolyn. Seriously, this woman deserves a medal for most consecutive hours spent in a pool enthusiastically cheering on toddlers whose parents have forced them into swim lessons.
Samantha, on the other hand, was a little fish from day one. So far, they’ve learned to blow bubbles in the water, grab hold of the edge of the pool, pull themselves out of the pool, jump back in the pool to us, practice floating on their tummies and backs, and practice kicking.
While the class is for babies and toddlers up to age two, Samantha and Amelia aren’t the youngest ones in the class. They are a few one year olds, and a fourteen month old who can swim all the way under the water toward his dad while holding his breath, and then pop up like a dolphin. It’s pretty amazing!
One of their favorite activities is when Miss Carolyn dumps a bunch of sea creature toys onto the steps and the kids have to look down into the water to grab them. It’s supposed to get them to practice putting their faces in the water, but Samantha and Amelia could care less about the learning aspect– they just love pulling out the toys!
Another favorite activity is dancing in a circle with the other kids, singing “Happy and You Know It” at the end of class. They especially love the “Hooray!” at the very end when we throw them up in the air and they SPLASH down in the pool.
The girls also start to giggle with glee when Miss Carolyn pulls out her giant floating foam board. She stands holding one end, while I stand on the other and we have Samantha and Amelia practice their balance by “walking on water” toward me and then leaping off. Not sure what that has to do with swimming, but the girls sure seem to love it.
Our expectations are pretty low when it comes to what we actually want them to learn from swim lessons…we mostly just want them to get used to the water and were looking for a fun Saturday activity to do together, especially since Jake usually works the rest of the day.
Other sources of H20 fun include the kiddie pool:
The splash pad:
The creek down in the canyon by our house:
The pool by our house:
A different splash pad (thanks Auntie Lynn for the new sun dresses!):
And, of course, the ultimate source of water-related entertainment, the beach. Today, the girls’ BFF and personal mentor, Marisa, came down to hang out at the beach with us. Or rather, I should say, the beach trip wouldn’t have been possible in the first place without her since it’s too crazy with the girls to go solo! A minimum of two adults is always required for this activity.
The girls acted like they weren’t having a good time at first, but kept trying to hide their smiles from us once the always-prepared Marisa broke out her bubbles. Good thing she knows what’s guaranteed to break through those tough exteriors!
We only ventured to the water once, and after getting soaked by a few surprise waves and a few unsuccessful attempts by Amelia to pet the seagulls, the girls were done, so we spent most of our time on the sand and in our beach tent. Fine by me.
The girls finally let loose and couldn’t help but groove to the tunes, compliments of Marisa’s adorable portable beach speaker. Obsessed!
If there’s one thing I’m grateful for lately, it’s that we live nearby so many fun places to cool off from the summer heat and have friends with whom the girls and I love to play. I don’t know what I would do all day with Samantha and Amelia otherwise!
Lots of love,
