So Stinkin' Proud!

Today at the pool I was squealing with excitement. I'm pretty sure I was having more fun than any of the kids. John had his last of 8 swim lessons today, and I have to say his teachers have really managed an amazing transformation. He's been very independent in the water and pretty fearless with a life jacket on. Last Friday I tried to get him to touch the bottom with his feet in the shallow end, which would require him to go in without the life jacket and put his head under. He puts his head under all the time with no problem, but this was just a mental shift he wasn't ready for. Today we brought some new dive sticks to the pool. I dropped them in the pool (near the stairs) before John had a chance to play with them. He immediately dove toward one. I pushed him down to help him get to the bottom, and he popped right back up with it! Next, the stepped out of the pool and threw them a few lanes into the pool. He jumped in and swam to me (standing above the dive stick), held onto me to catch a breath, then dove for the stick and swam it back to the side! Holy cow! I was so surprised and excited and proud of him!!!! Of course after that he wanted to just drop them on the stairs where he could easily get them, but he enjoyed the game, and I can't wait to go to the pool with Buck and let him see what our new little fish can do! Of course, now I keep reminding him that since he doesn't have on a life jacket he needs to tell me before he jumps in. This newly found independence is so exciting to me, but I'm sure will add to my grey hairs.

In other news, Eve has been saying the names of colors for a while now, but has started to pretty consistently identify a handful of them. She's also got a layer of curls underneath her straight hair. It's only in the back, and can't quite decide what it wants to do. We'll see what becomes of it. When it's dry it's just a funky cowlick that looks goofy under her straight hair (it's shorter, too), but when it's wet it gathers into cute little ringlets.