Monsters University

On Tuesday the girls and my Dad and I went to the new movie "Monsters University".  This was Phoebe's first time to see a movie in a movie theater.  She is a fan of Monsters Inc. and was excited to see Monsters University.  My Dad got us all some buttery movie popcorn to share... It was delicious.  Phoebe is also a fan of popcorn and ate a ton of it while walking down the hallways to the theater, while sitting and waiting for the movie to start, and while watching the movie.  

When we got seated in the theater, Phoebe kept looking all around and finally asked me where the movie would be.  I told her about the big screen and then finally the lights started to dim and Phoebe quietly said to me... "It is really dark."  Then the movie began.  

We had a great time.  I thought the movie was good and very funny.  Sarah's favorite monsters in Monsters University were the PNK sorority girls.  Phoebe told me that her favorite monster from the new movie was Squishy but she still liked Monsters Inc. the best.

Summer Swimming Lessons Days 5-8

Week #2 of swimming lessons....

Day 5

Phoebe was excited to get ready and go to swimming lessons Monday morning.  She did great with no crying.  She played "ring around the rosie", "red light, green light" (sitting on the side of the pool and pretending to drive their race cars while kicking their feet), played "Mr. Alligator", practiced floating on her back and belly, and got to go down the small slide and the big blue slide.

Sarah was happy to swim.  She is doing a good job of holding her breath underwater and learning to keep herself afloat by using her arms and legs.

Day 6

Popee and Nanee joined us again to watch the girls swim on Tuesday.  Phoebe got to put a life jacket on and swim with her class in the deep part of the big pool.  They each swam all the way across the pool!

Then they lined up to go off the low diving board. They each jumped off to their teacher... Phoebe did not want to jump off, so a teacher lowered her down and dropped her!

Sarah swam in the deep end of the pool with a life jacket on too.  She also came down the big blue slide with the life jacket on... which made her go very slow.

Day 7
Phoebe did a good job on Wednesday using her "big arms" to swim and play games with her class.  She got to wear a life jacket again and go into the big pool with her class.

Phoebe came down the big blue slide with her life jacket on.  Her teacher wasn't expecting her down so quickly and was still helping the kid who came down before her get to the side of the pool... So, when Phoebe shot off the end of the slide no one caught her.  She began to roll with the life jacket on, but when she made her "airplane arms" she stopped rolling and floated.

Phoebe got to go off the diving board two times on Wednesday.  Both times she was lowered and dropped, instead of jumping.

Sarah jumped in the deep end and swam to her teachers then back to the wall with no life jacket on, on Wednesday.  She kept looking over at me and smiling.  She was so happy with herself and what she was doing!

She also got to jump off the low dive without a life jacket on... She almost belly flopped right onto her teacher who was in the water in case any of the kids needed help swimming to the side after jumping in.

Then anyone in Sarah's class who wanted to try jumping off the high dive could... Sarah wanted to try... without her life jacket!  She climbed all the way up and walked slowly out to the end of the board.  The teachers yelled up to her to get all the way to the end... then one, two, three, and she jumped!  She landed a little sideways and smacked her belly... but still swam to the side on her own and was hopeful that she would get to try it again the next day... with a life jacket on.

"It was a good day of swimming." -Sarah

Day 8

Daddy met us again over his lunch hour to watch his girls swim on their last day of lessons.  Phoebe did great.  She did everything her teachers asked her to do, except going under the water willingly.  Her teachers helped her a little with that part, but she let them, closing her eyes and holding her breath while they dipped her under.

Sarah did fantastic.  She got to jump in the deep part of the pool and swim to her teachers again, play tag/stuck in the mud with her class, and jump off the low dive and high dive.  When getting ready to jump off the high dive she asked to wear a life jacket this time... She also made her body into more of a toothpick instead of a sideways flop, or a front belly flop.

At the end of the last lesson, each class got to enjoy a popsicle together.  Phoebe had a chocolate popsicle and Sarah had an orange popsicle.  Because it was about 105 degrees outside (for real) the popsicles had to be eaten super fast, or they would melt and fall to the concrete.  (Silas and I were both dripping wet from sweat.  It was SO HOT! He and I couldn't wait to get home and get cooled off.)  

Summer Swimming Lessons Days 1-4

The girls have been in swimming lessons this week.  Lessons were four days this week and are four days next week. Their lessons begin at the same time each day... Phoebe is in "Tiny Tots" and Sarah is in "Level One".   So far they are both really enjoying it!  Phoebe had a rough first day and part of the second, but smooth swimming since then.... Sarah has done fabulous!  She wants to be in the water and is eager to learn.

Day 1
Phoebe walked with her class to the small pool.  She looked nervous and a little sad.  She got into the water with all of the little children in her class and the teachers... Then she just stood there.  The teachers had to help her make her do each activity or swimming skill.  She started to cry about 5-10 minutes into the lesson and continued to cry until the end.

Sarah joined her class and teachers in the big pool.  They started out by each going under the water five times.  Then they took turns zooming off the wall, kicking, moving their arms,and floating on their backs and tummies.

At the end of the first day's lesson Sarah's class walked up to the top of the big blue slide and they each got to slide down one time.  Sarah did great!

Day 2
On the second day Popee and Nanee came to the pool with us to watch the girls swim.  (I was thankful to have them along to help me with Silas because I was anticipating having some issues Phoebe.)  Phoebe told me many times throughout the morning that she "did not want to go swimming."  I pretended to not hear her... Then I had to wrestle her a little bit to get her swimsuit onto her so that we could go to the lessons.  Once we got there Phoebe got very quiet and sad.

Phoebe started to cry immediately when I walked her over to her class's little pool area... I put her in the water with the other kids and her teachers and I walked away.  (Note: This is not an easy mom thing to do...turning your back and walking away from your crying/screaming kid, who just wants their mommy.  But this was the right choice and best thing to do, at least in this situation.)  I went back over and sat with my parents and Silas, where Phoebe could not even see me.  She cried till about half way through her lesson, then stopped.  I walked a little closer to get a couple pictures of her after she had stopped crying... She slid down the small slide by herself!

Then her class all came out of the little pool area and went up the stairs so that they all could come down the big blue slide... And, Phoebe did it too!  All by herself!  NO CRYING!!! Then she smiled!

Sarah had another great day... floating, holding her breath, kicking...

And, coming down the big blue slide.

Day 3

On the third day Daddy got to meet us at the pool over his lunch hour to see his girls swim.  Phoebe told us she was going to do "no crying".  And, she was right!  NO CRYING!!!! The whole time.  She did everything her teachers asked her to do and participated the entire time.  She played ring around the rosie.

She kicked her legs and pretended to drive a race car.

She floated on her belly and kicked her legs.

And, she came down the big blue slide with one of her teachers.  When I asked her later why she didn't do it by herself again that day, she told me that she was too cold.

Sarah did fabulous again.

She told me later that they each had to hold their breath and try to get a stick that their teacher was holding between her toes.  She did it, but it took a few tries.  Then her class all put on lifejackets and jumped into the deep end of the pool to swim around.

Last she got to jump off the low diving board with the life jacket on two times.

 

Day 4

Phoebe did great! No crying!  Again she participated and did everything her teachers asked her to do.

At the end of her lesson she got to go down the little slide and the big blue slide.  She did both slides by herself with no crying!

Sarah looks forward to her lesson and being in the water each day.  She is having lots of fun learning to swim and float.

Sarah really likes getting to come down the big blue slide at the end of her lesson.  Today she got to go down a yellow tube slide in the deep end, with her life jacket on.  This slide was super fast, and I was unable to get a good picture of her because she shot out of the end of it too fast for me.