Little Fishy

I have known for quite some time that Ainslee isnt quite the "fish" that Kaylee is. I realize now how spoiled I was having a child who didnt care to have water dumped on her head, who splashed water in her own face, who jumped off the edge of the swimming pool in Mexico (at 17 months old) THE ENTIRE TIME and sunk to the bottom and then got mad at whomever rescued her, who refused to use her floaty because she wanted to learn to swim. It is new to me that a child be more "cautious" of the water and not as enthusiastic about water in the face. I have said it since the day she was born, Ainslee is a MUCH more sensitive child. Now Im not saying that is bad! She's just more sensitive (in more ways than one). So because of this I decided that I wanted her to try swim lessons. I thought maybe they would help her get adjusted to water life, because we WILL be in the water for much of the summer, and I would hate for her to be miserable. So when my good friend mentioned that she would be taking her daughter to a swim class, I decided to give the instructor a call. We got the last available spot in the Mommy and Me 1 class, and it was the same week/ time as my friend and her daughter. I was thrilled! Well our lessons began this past Monday. We dove right in (not literally) and began doing everything that we were told, and lets just say Ainslee was not too thrilled with it. Actually she HATED it! I knew in the beginning that the class started right at nap time but Ive held her off from naps before and she was fine, so i thought no big deal. Well apparently swimming is NOT her first choice in activities when she is tired! I held my breath that the second class would go better than the first, and I was shocked........it was WORSE! I debated on whether or not I should continue, I mean Id be out the money even if we quit. So I changed my plan of attack. This morning I woke Ainslee up out of a dead sleep at 6am! We played she had breakfast, in peace and quiet might I add, because Kaylee was still sleeping. I packed our bags, loaded up the car, and as soon as Kaylee woke up we headed into town. When we got to my moms house, I fed Kaylee her breakfast, shortly afterwards Ainslee was ready for her morning snack, then we played some more. I put Ainslee down for a nap, and had to WAKE her up from a dead sleep again to go to swim class. I was hopeful the extra rest would make a difference. And IT DID!!! YAY! Ainslee had a much more enjoyable time, and even tolerated going under water; please dont confuse "tolerated" with "enjoyed"! My little girl is learning to be a little fishy, so by the time we go to Florida (and to all our friends pools) she will be a swimming pro. Ok maybe not a pro, but at least she wont think it is pure torture to be hanging by the pool for a couple hours.

oh and then after her afternoon nap I took both girls to the sprinkler park (you know the one I posted pictures of a couple posts back) and she LOVED it! She loved filling the cup with water, she loved watching and playing with the other children, what she didnt love was when she was looking straight at a sprinkler when it turned on and sprayed her right in the face. IT WAS HILARIOUS! other moms that witnessed it were dying laughing too. But she didnt get too mad, she just wiped her face and continued on her way. Maybe she just needs a little extra time before I should expect her to be running through the water and enjoying it!


PS On days like today (and tomorrow and Friday) it makes it REALLY difficult to live so far away. How much easier would my life be if we lived near civilization, so we would not have had to leave our house at 730am and return at 4pm? How much easier would it be if my children could nap in their own beds in between activities? I am incredibly grateful that I have the some place to go for my children to nap, but it is still difficult on me and them. Oh how I dream of living only a stones throw away.

Here's to hoping tomorrows swim class will be just as enjoyable as today!