Hot days make for fun backyard pool days. The girls were being sweet with each other. The thing they seemed to enjoy most this day in the pool was the freedom to splash and pour water outside of the pool. In the bathtub they get in trouble for making a big water mess, but it was actually encouraged this day. They loved it!

Grandma rode with us to Orlando. It was nice to have a little extra company in the car as we traveled. The stay at Jolie’s was very short, but lots of fun. All of the family came by and enjoyed a dinner together. And before dinner we enjoyed some time out at the pool.

The girls got to play in their new bathing suits (thanks, Nichole) and enjoy the cool water on a warm afternoon. Emily had been looking forward to her visit with Natalie for quite a while and was so excited. The girls had a blast swimming together. They poured water, swam around, and jumped into the water a million times.

Dylan wasn’t left out and enjoyed running around the house with Emily, watching TV together, and driving push cars in the house. He enjoyed the pool, but couldn’t compete with Natalie in the pool.

Julia did her own thing for the day. She hung out in the pool until she got too cold then cuddled with a variety of people. Then shortly after dinner she was rocked to sleep by Grandma.

Emily loves to be in the water. She swam with floaties, an intertube, a noodle, on her own, and with family members. When we arrived she was very tentative about jumping in the pool. Her jump resembled a step more than a jump, but after playing with Grandma she was doing so well at jumping in and away from the pool edge. Her building confidence was so amazing and I was so proud of her. She prefers to swim with her floaties to swimming on her own, but when she is ready to give them up she is going to do fine.

Emily enjoyed throwing diving toys for everyone else to fetch for her, she liked jumping from step to step, and enjoyed passing a ball to other people. Our swim times were fun active times. She was happy to swim with anyone, but her favorites were Grandma and Natalie. I credit Grandma with helping Emily learn technically how to jump safely into the pool and Natalie with teaching Emily how to jump with complete confidence. Emily had fun jumping to Grandma, but what happened in less than a hour of play with Natalie was amazing.

Emily has continued to ask to swim since we got home. I look forward to our next opportunity to play in the water.

Julia loves being in the pool and water. She expresses such excitement when she knows she is going to play. Several times on the trip she would ask directly to go swimming in the pool by saying ‘wa’ and pointing at the pool. She would also find her swim diaper and take it to everyone trying to get someone to take her out. We worked hard to keep the swim diapers hidden because she was so insistent.

Julia enjoyed being held in the pool. She liked playing on the steps of the pool. She tolerated floating on her own in the baby float. She disliked holding on to the noodle and intertube. When she started to walk off the steps and enjoying the dunking she got, we put Emily’s floaties on her. With floaties she just bobbed around kicking enough to move a little. Julia is lacking fear of the water. It might still come, but she doesn’t have it yet. Julia puts her face into the water willingly and when her head goes under water she does a pretty good job of not swallowing water.

One of my favorite things she did around the pool was to wipe her face on the towel. She listened and watched our instruction to Emily about wiping your face to get sunscreen or water out of her eyes. On her own she started to wipe little spots on her face with the towel and then heading back to get more of the water. She just wants to be like her big sister. This is probably why she has been so quick to try so many things in the pool.

We had a lovely afternoon Saturday and went out to play in the backyard pool. Julia was a little unsure of sitting in the water, which was cool. Emily was all business in playing in the water. She hadn’t seen these toys in a while and they had a lot of play in them. My favorite thing they did was to pour water into a toy basket that had more holes than not. They also enjoyed ‘drinking’ the water out of a bucket. Both girls loved their playtime and were sad to get out, but the rumbles of a coming storm ended our playtime for us.

The girls have been taking swim lessons. Emily is in her own level I class and Julia and I are taking a “Mommy and Tot” class together. I was fortunate and they are teaching the two classes at the same time so we all can participate.

Emily has been doing really well. Previous to this class she would swim with water wings, so this class has been a lot of getting used to how her body feels in the water without a flotation device. She has been very willing to try new things. With the help of her teacher and a buoy she swam the length of the pool and back, she has swum under the lane divider, she will bob her face in and out of the water, and she is having a lot of fun. I asked Emily what her favorite thing to do in the pool is and she said to hold the side of the pool with her hands and feet.

Once Julia gets used to the temperature of the water she is having a good time with Mommy. We sing songs, bob in and out of the water, practice holding to the edge of the pool, throw and swim to balls, put our face into the water, and get dunked once each lesson. She hasn’t gotten fearful of the water yet and is enjoying all the water. One of her favorite things to do is to look for Emily in the next lane. This past week she actually saw Emily kicking her feet while swimming and Julia imitated the kick motion. Her other favorite thing to do in the pool is to throw and fetch a ball.

We are hoping to have a lot of opportunities to practice what we are learning this summer in the pool!