We just finished our two week swim class for the summer. Emily was in the Level 1 swimming class with Lauren and Julia was in the Mommy and Me class with Kate and Mommy. Both girls loved their class and teachers.

Wow, what a class – somewhere in the middle Julia decided that she wanted to be just like Emily. All she had to do was see Emily do some swimming activity and immediately she wanted to do the same thing. She was willing to do bobs, elevator rides, swim with a noodle, swim with boards, and “jump” into the pool. She loved it once she found some independence.

Emily was in her own heaven in her class. She found a new friend. When they weren’t doing something the girls hung on the edge of the pool and just chit-chatted. Emily is very proud of her kicking and swimming to the other end of the pool (with a board). She also enjoys the elevator game (a bobbing game). She was very brave to try whatever was asked of her.

Yesterday was the last day and Daddy got to come and watch the girls swim. Both girls were thrilled to have him there. They also seemed to “show off” their best tricks for him. What a sweet day.

The girls have graduated to the next classes for next time. Julia will join the pre-school classes (the only change from what we were learning now is no Mama) and Emily will move to the Level 2 class. The teacher said that Emily needs the kids from the next group to challenge her to new skills. We are so proud of our swimmers!

Happy Swimming Emily!

Our sparkling eyed, about-to-go-under Julia

Emily with Lauren

Julia with Kate

Floating with Mommy, she didn’t really like to do this and relax.

Emily with her new poolside buddy.

Kicking to the other end of the pool and happy to show Daddy her trick.

And she did it ALL by herself!

(2 1/2 years) Most of the time she loves her Mama, but every once in a while she attaches herself to her Daddy. When this happens she really wants Daddy. She picks him to do things with her, she climbs up in his lap, and she sticks to him like glue. It passes quickly, but while it lasts it is so sweet.

We went to visit Ms. Mary for Julia’s first “real” haircut today. What makes this one a “real” one versus the other cuts? First, we made this trip especially for Julia’s haircut. And secondly, the only other times she had her hair trimmed it was just a few snips to keep her from feeling left out during her sister’s haircuts.

Emily was very insistent that she would be getting her hair cut and it would be short. Given that she wanted to go first and Julia became very shy when we entered the hair salon, Emily got her haircut first. She got a trim and it is shorter, but not by too much. She loved all of the curls that Ms. Mary put in her hair for her. Mama thought she looked a little Shirley Temple-like.

Julia warmed up after being in the shop for a while. A little boy in the salon befriended both girls and played with them as long as he was there. Between the new friend and just seeing how things worked in the room, Julia lost her wariness. She sat very still (at least for a two year old) for Ms. Mary to both cut and style her hair. When we asked Julia if she wanted short or long hair she decided long. So Mary cut some hair off and then gave her a style too. With all the curls it is hard to tell what the cut looks like, but she too was proud of her curls.

Both girls played with a model head while Mama got a haircut and then they helped Ms. Mary sweep up all the cut hair from the floor. They were good helpers and didn’t stop helping until it was done. Mary is so sweet with the girls and lets them play with her combs and clips. We were sad that she couldn’t have lunch with us, but maybe next time.

Julia’s before photo. She was unusually willing to look at the camera and say, “cheese”. Mama marvels at how big her baby is getting!

A during haircut & styling shot. She did a good job of holding still. She enjoyed looking in the mirror and watching herself move her tongue.

An after-styled shot. Something in this photo makes she seem so angelic. Again, she willingly looked at the camera and said, “cheese”.

Julia and Ms. Mary

Emily’s before shot. Mama couldn’t pass up an opportunity to take a picture of her big girl.

Emily showing off her cute curly style with Ms. Mary.

The grandparents had to go home. We let them go, but not without a little guilt. The day they left Julia didn’t have much to do with them. It wasn’t from not liking them, it was because they were leaving. It was a moody pout. Emily enjoyed the “one last” game – one last kiss, one last hug . . . We will be seeing them in a month or so.

Every time we are together the Mama attempts a photo of the girls with their Grandparents. It is always quite a bit of work to get a shot. All the traditional posed photos either had someone not looking at the camera or very serious faces. We don’t live in the early part of the century when that was cool, so we are opting for the absolute silly photo instead. Enjoy the fun of the moment!

The day after the rain was a beautiful, temperate low-humidity day. After dinner we made a trip down to the park. We were hoping the girls would tire themselves out for bed. Julia spent the whole time swinging. Every time you asked her if she wanted to get down she would answer “No”. Only at the end when we told her that we would leave soon and it was her last chance, did she decided to play on the other equipment. Emily played on everything. She enjoyed swinging, sliding, playing hide-and-seek with Mama and another boy, being helped across the monkey bars, climbing into a make-shift pirate ship, and a million other things. In the end it all worked out. Emily was tired and rode home in the wagon and Julia used her extra energy walking home with Mama and Grandma.

One day of our Grandparent visit was a stormy day. After naps, we ventured out to the local used bookstore to wait for Robby to get off of work. The girls like going and finding all kinds of books on the shelves they want and might get to buy. This visit Grandma bought each of the girls one book. They looked through lots of books to find the right ones. They did a really good job of sticking with us and enjoying their books. I’m not a fortune teller, but I suspect we will make repeat trips to this store each time the Grandparents are in town.