flea

The kids started a 2-week cycle of swim lessons last night, which makes these two weeks extra-crazy, since the lessons are at 6pm. But it's good. Casper is in the most advanced group, 6 kids, ages (guessing by eye) 5-8. She is the best swimmer in the bunch, fast and direct and not splashy or flaily. I guess twice-daily swimming at the Y camp has paid off, although they just play and don't have actual instruction. She did a quite passable Australian crawl last night. She told me she listened to the coach and pointed her toes and kept her legs straight, and man was she fast! She really likes swimming, and it's definitely a sport she could be good at, in terms of build. There is a swim team for kids locally that might be worth looking in to.

Dillo was in one of the low groups, but did well. His group was 5 kids of a mix of ages - one girl who was probably 6, and two boys who were either two or young 3s, and a girl about Dillo's age. He listened well and was game for things (one of the little boys cried a lot) and floated really well. He has a tendency when trying to dog-paddle with a noodle-float of not going anywhere - it's more like treading water than swimming. And even kicking while holding the side of the pool, his butt sinks. Need to work on that. But he's in the water and comfortable and happy, which is the basic goal at just-4.

mr. flea and I sat and watched them and goggled at how adorable and accomplished they are.

I had a talk with Casper early this morning about the YMCA; I asked her who she was friends with in her group. She said nobody; the coaches were her friends. This wasn't bothering her, though; she said, "I've figured out the YMCA without friends." She said she swims to suit herself, and has gotten good at dribbling a basketball in the mornings (where she does spend time with one girl.) I guess it's good that she seems content, but it's a little sad, too. If her birthday weren't so late, most weeks she would have been with friends from school in the 7-8 year old group. S. talked to me about trying to coordinate our kid's schedules more next summer (alternating various camps but keeping her daughter and Casper together), but next year we'll have the complication of Dillo, who will only be 4 and not old enough for most activities. Would it be fair to have Casper doing different camps with a friend and Dillo stuck alone at the YMCA all summer? It's not like they'd have any contact at the Y anyway, since they keep the age groups apart.

Story hour at the (really pretty wonderful) library, Lorax and Rosemary Wells Mother Goose (Dillo, "I have this book at my house!")

Me off with Casper to the swimming lesson. It was hard the first day (Tues), much trepidation about face in the water. She would have skipped it today if I'd let her. But we emerged from the library (entered in steady rain) to almost-sunshine, then caught a drawbridge-opening, then caught part of seal-feeding at the aquarium. She was ready to face the lesson at the beach, greatly added by the calmness of the sea today. Teacher Joy worked closely with her and Boss Megan did too and she did 2 back floats, one for the duration of the alphabet song, and a brief front float. Quite proud of herself on the walk home with brownie reward, maybe we'll see "rocket" swimming by Friday?

Lunch at home then back to town, walking to Aquarium. Bought small presents at MBL visitor center (stuffed beluga for Casper and squishy octopus for Dillo), got ice cream and saw clouds rolling in, raining on Elizabeth Islands. Beat the storm home except for the initial drips, and now we have thunder and lightning. Such is Cape weather.

Tomorrow, Casper and mr. flea will go an a morning collecting trip with the Aquarium, and I hope manage it so that they are back just in time for the lesson again. Dillo and I plan some gardening (moving iris, planting daylily, salvia, and pink achillea). Weather uncertain, though.

Friday, swim lesson and tag sale/festival at the library from 10-1. Then up to see friends w/kids in Swampscott, possibly fireworks.

Casper is sleeping on the cat's pillow-bed in the corner of the living room, where she built a nest for herself this afternoon.

mr. flea and I were working on getting the networked computers to talk to each other, and Casper was, we thought, playing with her doll house dining room and assorted residents on the table. She came in to tell us that she had just put her brother to bed (we thought he was already there). She said she went in and found him standing up looking out from the crib so she climbed in (I didn't know she could do this but mr. flea did) and told him to lie down on his pillow and put his blanket over him and gave him his Uglydoll and pulled the string on the music-maker and told him to go to sleep, and he did. mr. flea later checked and found he was indeed as she had described, facing opposite to the way he had put him down. Do you think we could teach her to do this every night? In any case it bodes well for the possibility of them sharing a room or a bed in future.

Today we went to the pool, at the city rec center, where we'd never been. It's pretty decent, $2 each for city residents (Dillo free) and they have decent open swim hours. Obviously not crowded as it is winter and a holiday weekend at that. Dillo was afraid of the water for a long time but ultimately got used to it. Casper continues to think she can swim but in fact she can only vaguely dogpaddle when held up, will not put her face in the water, and cannot use a kickboard. They have very well-priced swim lessons, so perhaps that will help move her forward; signup for the next lot is Jan. 14 (not to self!)

Emmett is doing basketball and I asked Casper if she'd like to also. In light of the fact that they would be in different sessions (as he is five and she is 4 and it can never work out between them) she opted no, saying she'd rather do soccer. So must keep an eye on when the reputedly good league starts spring sessions (we missed fall by finding out too late). Note to self: ask Stephanie's mum.

Tomorrow we may go to the zoo, although if it rains Monday may be a better day. I hope it is a good one; I find all zoos rather depressing but from the maps it looks like a decent one. Can't possibly be as depressing as the Athens zoo, which is essentially what zoos were in about 1950s US I think.

Dillo seems to be developing by leaps and bounds lately - he is just so tuned and and understands so much and communicates so well (despite poor pronunciation - but once you know that "boo" means "cow" you're good.) Such a big little noodle person.

He was terrified of the carousel at the mall the other day - literally trembling in fear until I took him off the horse and just held him in my arms. He is slow to adapt to new things; slower than Casper was at any rate.

Moxie, for one, calls 18 months a very difficult time - I think meaning there is a lot of clinginess and frustration at lack of communication, and the start of honest-to-god whining - but I love it for the language leaping process and the deeper and truer glimpses one gets of who the little person really is.

Here is my little person (remember, "boo" means cow, I couldn't get him to say kitty, which sounds like "gee", and "mine" is fairly well-articulated):