Swimming Lessons

Analia and Maya had their first official swimming lesson today.  Analia is a FISH!  She can hold her breath and swim independently underwater...we had to keep close tabs on her because she just wanted to jump in and swim around like the older kids.  She'll be a great swimmer very very soon.  Maya was a little hesitant, maybe because the water was pretty cold or maybe because she's only 1 and we were skipping her morning nap to be there, I don't know for sure.  The one exercise she was fabulous at was laying on her belly reaching out for a toy.  Once the lesson was over and they could both just play and splash, Maya warmed up and really enjoyed herself.  We stayed at the pool and the beach for a few hours...the sun felt wonderful and both girls were playing in the soft sand...I told Mike that I think we may have found Paradise.  

Here She Is...

Eating her first bowl of rice cereal!  Yay!  I thought about waiting until we get to Guam to begin anything new, but she has been grabbing at our food and following the fork from our plate to our mouth, so I just decided to try it.  And she is a pro already!  She hardly spits anything out and swallows it quickly.  I think she's ready to be eating solids.  What a big girl she is--5 1/2 months already.  She is rolling easily from back to belly, and is getting better at belly to back.  When she gets excited, like when she watches us eat, she kicks her legs and just wiggles around.  

The other night I was putting her to bed and just giving her kisses and telling her how much I loved her, when she pulled her head back and put both of her palms onto my cheeks, and pulled me in for a big kiss!  I was so touched.  She really looked into my eyes and just wanted to tell me that she loved me too.  That's one moment that I will always remember with her.  Just how tender she is.  

And her eyes!  They are so blue and deep--I feel like I know those eyes, like my heart knows those eyes, and that they know more than her little baby self can.  Wow.  I'm so lucky to have my two little babies.   

Not ready for Nursery

Yesterday, Analia followed her friend Matthew into the nursery room and the teacher said that she could stay in if she played. Well, she did play and didn't even blink an eye at me not being there. She was so involved with the kids and the toys and the teacher playing with them all that she wasn't even phased. At first I was pumped because I could really enjoy the lesson in Sunday School without chasing her around, but then after church, I noticed that she was acting, somehow, a little bit older--I'm not sure how to describe it, but it just seemed to me that she was bigger.

Going to bed last night I realized that I'm not ready for her to be in nursery! She's ready, but I'm not! That probably doesn't happen too often! Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that she is adjusted to being with older kids and playing and singing songs and all that, but I'm just a little bit, I don't know, sad maybe? I'll probably get over it sooner than later because she is so happy about playing and is acting much more playful than the last couple of days. I swear, growth in kids happens in a day--it's like they just click and then all of a sudden their older--it doesn't seem so gradual anymore. So I'm hoping to keep living each day in the moment with her and then these jumps won't seem so out of the blue! Any advice?

My Shoes---

I take it as a compliment that Analia wants to wear my shoes around--she wants to be like me! And I hope that never changes--I hope I'll always be someone who she wants to be like. I guess those are big shoes for me to fill!

P.S. We were cleaning out the extra room/craft room that's why everything is looking so messy! Although, Analia didn't mind!

Words and more words

The other day we went to the butterfly house to find that it is closed for the season, but we had a blast walking around the pond, feeding the ducks, and smelling the flowers. Analia says 'wow' for flower, so that's all she said for the entire hour at the pond. And every morning she wakes up and sees the big flower picture in her room and says 'wow wow'. She's also saying 'duc' for duck and 'ba' for sheep. And she's learned the sign for 'please', so when she asks for something, she'll do the sign too. She's so smart! Yay! got down the sign for 'please', so when she asks for something, she'll do the sign too. She's so smart!


Just a great picture of her playing in our back yard later that day.
Her first carosel ride! She loved being on the horse, but more than that she loved being by her dad. She loves Mike so much and lately will prefer him over me--which is fine because he can play with her in the evenings and so I don't get boring to her. It's cute to see her say 'dad' and point to him, run with her arms up toward him, and give him kisses. She is such an angel.

Eating with a spoon and other pictures...

Hi all, Just wanted to update you on this new feat in our home: Analia is eating with a spoon! She loves it and really eats more when she can do it herself. After a while though, she gets tired and just digs in with her hands. And then grins!
She's getting so big so fast and understanding everything. I'll ask her to go get her shoes and she'll come out with both shoes that match and want me to put them on. Wow. She just amazes me every day.