Summer and swimming

I think I may have created a swimmer! Jake is in his second year on the Persimmon Creek Swim Team. And he's kicking butt and taking names in the 6 and under group! I may be just a wee bit too proud...but he's just doing so well. Firsts and seconds in the meets with his freestyle and backstroke. His intensity when he's swimming is amazing. It's so cool to have produced an athlete--given how non-athletic his parents are!
He has other talents--his reading and writing skills are in good shape--he's ready for first grade. We have to get him glasses, but that's OK.

Phoebe is just as wonderful--can't leave her too long without praise. Although she won't put her head in the water, she scoots around in her swim ring like a water baby. It's really wonderful! She's smart as a whip, and dare I say more advanced than Jake was at her age? I think his influence has helped her. She gets herself dressed and can figure out how to buckle and unbuckle her baby seat. Perhaps TOO smart sometimes...

Growing up...too fast?

The kidlets are maturing at an amazing rate, and it's both scary and wonderful to see. The sibling relationship is developing and I have high hopes for success.

Jake played so nicely with Phoebe on Saturday! When she woke up from her nap she was a bit cranky. He started blowing raspberries on her tummy, making her giggle--a sound I just can't get enough of! She looks at him with such happiness and love, and he loves to make her happy too. Later Jake and I were playing tag on the bed and Phoebe wanted to get up and play too. Jake folded her right into our game and we all laughed and rolled on the bed and had just a great time! At the playground, Jake got onto the tire swing. Of course, Phoebe wanted to be on it too--Jake said "put her on the other side Mommy!" I sat her down and Jake put his legs on either side of her, then leaned over and put his hands over hers on the chain so she wouldn't fall off. I swung them around and both just laughed and laughed. Truly a golden moment I will savor forever in my mind...

Phoebe is quite the big girl now, walking everywhere and she's developing a devilish grin that just melts me... When we go to the pool Jake has to carry his toys inside, especially his swim ring. Saturday, Jake grabbed his ring and before I could grab Phoebe's, she had picked it up and was toddling towards the pool! She was so proud of herself for carrying her toy, and I was so proud of her too! Honestly the cutest thing you ever want to see... then as we were leaving I was carrying stuff to the car, and I looked behind me and she was right there with the biggest smile on her face--so proud to be following Mommy.

Each day, my heart seems to grow fuller and fuller. Watching them, playing with them, hugging and kissing them... my babies are my heart, my joy and my soul. Thank you God for giving them to me!

Hooray for Summer!

I cannot believe how excited I am for summer! The pool is open and the fun is beginning. I don't think I have been this excited since I was about 15... that was the last time that I truly looked forward to summer. The last time summer was ahead of me as an almost endless stretch of time, full of warmth and promise and freedom.

After that summer, I was thinking ahead to college and to "real life". Of course once I graduated, summer became just another season. Even when it was just Jake, somehow summer didn't have the thrill that it does now. Last year with a newborn, I was just glad to know if it was day or night. But that changed.

I think yesterday at the pool really brought it home. We visited a friend's pool for a few hours, then went to our community pool. Jake and Phoebe had such fun! And so did I--from the smell of the sunscreen, the hint of chlorine, the bright sunshine, the great splashes, the towels, the pool snacks... it all suddenly came together and helped me recapture the joy I used to have in summer.

The coolest thing is that summer never really went away. It was hanging out and waiting for me to rediscover it in the faces, voices and actions of my 2 water babies!

The End of Summer

Sunday, August 31, 2008
Huh? What? Where did it go? Summer, I mean. The lazy days where I was going to read books and watch my beautiful blond child run around in the sun. Where my baby would sleep peacefully beside me as I sat in a chair and drank iced tea. And read books.
Apparently, those days disappeared under mountains of laundry, a doctoral dissertation gnawing at my brain, and endless grocery shopping and cleaning. Oh, plus 2 children who didn't seem to want to play their appointed roles in my little summer plans. The beautiful blond child is tanned and blond from 3 months in the pool--but I watched him the whole time. And the peaceful baby? Well, she has opinions and needs, and they don't include Mommy reading.
But still... this was one of the best summers of my life. Watching Jake go from early June and barely putting his face in the water to late August and seeing him swim the whole way across the pool with his snorkeling gear on. Seeing Phoebe grow and develop a personality that is so like me and yet so uniquely her own. Seeing the two of them develop a bond, a sibling relationship that is growing stronger with each laugh, each hug, each kiss, each hair pull. Watching in wonderment at these two beings I actually conceived and birthed.
Yes, the best summer of my life. Except for the laundry.