Jump! Jump!

Remember how I said Z's turned into a swimming fool? Let the record show that her almost 3 year old sister is will not be outdone. Yes, she's armed with a little flotation assistance from water wings or a swim vest, but she's fearless when it comes to jumping into the pool unassisted.

My heart skips a beat every time her head disappears under the surface, but she can't get enough of the thrill.

She's a swimming fool

Two weeks ago, Z wouldn't jump into a pool unassisted or swim in the deep end. Seven Fenwick Swim Camp swimming lessons later she's ready to rule our vacation home pool.

One shitty moment in an otherwise lovely day

Today was practically perfect in every way. My kids benefited from some very awesome yard sales (A got a mini Radio Flyer trike, Z got a Disney Princess tee, and they both got new books). They got to listen to stories and dance with Miss Lori's Campus (minus Miss Lori!) at a WTTW Kids event in the Whole Foods parking lot. We hit the library for a restock of books and A took a 2 hour nap while I whipped up and delivered a mac and cheese casserole for a family that just had a new baby.

We hit the pool around 2:30 and scored a lounge chair (that never happens) right next to three of our neighbors (none of whom we'd even planned on meeting). Z had tons of friends to play with, but A didn't seem like her usual water baby self. She kept climbing out of the pool and asking for snacks, and after about an hour or so, she climbed into her stroller, asked me to set it recline, and covered herself up with a towel. Each time I went to check on her, she told me to "Go!" and she'd lay down with her paci, closing her eyes a bit.

I thought maybe all the sun and activity had worn her out, but she was hatching something much more sinister than a nap in her cozy, damp little stroller cave.

Something I discovered when she asked to go back into the pool, 10 minutes before closing. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I came face to face with my first ever poopy swim diaper. A blowout, I might add, that I first smelled and then saw, smeared across the right side of my waist.

Thank G-d I had so many friends nearby. I shouted for them to keep an eye on Z and I raced with A and the diaper bag into the locker room, where, in one fell swoop, I stripped off her swimsuit (thank goodness I'd just bought her a two-piece), removed her diaper and showered us both off. What I'd forgotten in my race to grab the diaper bag was a towel, and I couldn't very well put a diaper on a dripping wet baby, so I walked back out to the pool in my dripping (de-pooped, but not yet sterilized) swimsuit with a slick naked baby on my hip and a backpack slung over my shoulder. I had 3 minutes to get A dressed and Z out of the pool before it closed. Good times.

Things did improve after the shitty ending to outing. We had our friends from across the fence over for BBQ takeout and by dessert time we'd all joined our next-door neighbors in the backyard. The kids (and us grown-ups, for that matter) were having so much fun that I let both of the girls stay up an hour past their bedtimes.

Z sporting her new Belle tee, a jean skirt, rain boots and multiple weapons.

My weekends are never boring

This weekend, inspired by This Week for Dinner, I picked up an extra quart of fresh Michigan strawberries from the farmer's market and made strawberry freezer jam. It is so delicious. And beautiful too, but I forgot to take a picture of it to post. Bummer.

I also made bran muffins to bring along to a playdate A had with her buddy Stella, who will be a big sister by the end of this week. Unfortunately, her mom just found out baby girl #2 has hydrocephalus, which means she and her husband will be juggling a toddler at home in the western burbs, a C-section recovery at Northwestern and a new baby in the NICU at Children's Memorial Hospital in Lincoln Park (which doesn't allow sibling visits). It's times like these that I wish I was home during the week so that I can offer more than just moral support and the occasional tray of mac and cheese.

In happier news, I got to take the girls to the pool twice this weekend. Halfway through our Sunday visit, A figured out how to stay upright on her own in Z's old swim vest, and she bicycled her chunky little legs like mad, propelling herself around deep end of the pool without holding on to me! She also practiced climbing in and out of the pool, jumping in and putting her face in the water and spitting out the chlorinated water. What a water baby! Z is also doing well in the water, but she's going to need more than 8 swimming lessons before she's ready to give up her water wings. She panics easily and--given the fact that she has zero body fat--she sinks like a stone.

For Father's Day I gave Josh a copy of Watching Movies and a rash guard shirt--basically a top he can wear at the pool. I also took him out to eat at Takashi, which was very good...kind of like Mado with a Japanese twist. The guy deserved it, he's a spectacular dad.