Monday, September 6, 2010

Labor Day - The Unofficial End to Summer

Today was one of those rare occasions when every member of our family was home. To celebrate this day, we took advantage of the public pool. It was the last day the pool would be open until next summer. We had to seize the day and brave the pool, even though we were a little worried about how warm it would be.

At the beginning of the summer, I hoped that Caleb would be able to swim by the end of the summer. He is super great at jumping into the pool. Maybe he is too great at it, because when we go to the pool, he likes to jump over and over again. In fact, as I am writing this, I am realizing why I have had a constant bruise on my arm all summer. When Caleb normally jumps into the pool, I am holding Natalie, and I try to catch Caleb with one arm. That one arm has had a bruise on it for most of the summer. I just realized why. Back to swimming. Today we had Rick in the pool with us, which made things much easier. Rick was helping Caleb swim, and then I asked Caleb to swim to me. I tricked him a little, because as I saw him swim closer to me, I kept backing up to encourage him to swim farther. He finally gave up swimming to me, and swam to the edge of the pool instead. We estimated that he swam about 12 feet on his own! It was so awesome. He was proud of himself, and Rick and I praised him with huge grins on our faces. We were unable to convince him to do this again, but we were still super proud of him.

Natalie is also quite the character at the pool. She loves the pool, and even if Caleb and me get cold, she still stays warm. The cool water doesn't seem to bother her. There is about a 1 foot edge on the pool that is covered by the water. Natalie loves to sit on the edge and crawl along it. She amazes the people nearby, because she can lift herself out of the pool by holding onto this edge and she can ease herself back into the pool. She just holds on to this edge, even though there is 3 feet of water below her. Don't worry, I am normally within arms distance of her. She also likes to "jump" into the pool, just like her brother, and then lay on the cement with him when he is drying off. At the beginning of the summer, a lady at the pool taught Natalie how to wag her finger in a "No, No, No" fashion. It is pretty cute. I should probably try to record it and post it on here.

Our pool day was cold, but it was fun to be together as a family. Caleb and I did get cold, and then we laid on the cement to dry off. The cement was so warm after the cool pool. As I laid there smelling the ground, I had memories of my own childhood and swimming. I was amazed at how relaxing this was. Seriously, everyone should try it, even if you are an adult.

This past weekend David & Talia visited us. We had so much fun with them exploring NYC, and eating at some of the most delicious restaurants. I especially enjoyed holding their baby Landon. He was so sweet and innocent. He reminded me how fast babies grow up. Caleb especially loved playing with David, who he referred to as a "big kid" and Caleb was the "little kid". This might have confused Caleb a little bit, because he was surprised to find out Landon was David's son. He didn't know "kids" could have sons. Talia and I also had a much needed girls outing to Serendipity 3 for the best chocolate drink I have ever had. It makes me smile to think about it.

The pool is closing. David, Talia, & Landon left. The leaves are starting to change...a little bit. Summer is ending. Caleb swam about 12 feet. Natalie learned how to walk this summer. It is a good thing Fall is so amazing around here, otherwise I would be more sad for summer to end. We are also looking forward to a visit next week from Grandma and more aunts. Yay! Maybe we will hold onto summer a little bit longer.