Swimming pool

There was no playgroup today. Our de facto organizer is busy with a project this month, and none of the rest of us got anything together for today. Amy G. and I had planned to hang out, but it didn’t work out.

So, since one of my accomplishments yesterday was to actually use the phone and call the school about when they offer swimming (and Pilates; not at the same time), I decided to introduce Amy to the pool (finally, after getting our bathing suits how long ago?).

(First there was breakfast, and naked time, and time tuning the dulcimer / looking at pictures, and book time.)

On the way there I kept telling Amy where we were going, and she kept repeating, “swimming pool!”

We parked close enough that it was a nice short stroller ride to the gym, and a nice student helped me find the pool. Which is one of the most inaccessible pools I’ve ever been to. The door directly to the pool is actually to the bleachers, so you have to go down stairs and across a little barrier to get to the pool. Entering via the locker rooms is worse — down more stairs and narrower.

The lifeguard, who is also the lady I talked to on the phone, and the yoga and Pilates instructor, helped me with the stroller. I had on my suit under my clothes, and changed Amy on a bench. Put a float belt on her, then we walked over to the side of the pool and sat down. She watched me kick my feet in the water, and toss in the noodle the guard gave us to play with.

When I got in, though, she started to cry, a scared sounding cry. I took her off the side and held her, but that was both worse and better. We walked around a bit, then got out again.

We spent more time dealing with our clothes and the stairs than we did in the water, but that’s okay. We’ll try again another day.

Afterwards we headed next door to the dining hall for lunch, and caught Mark as he was about to leave.

At lunch and on the way home, she continued to say “swimming pool.”

On the way home we stopped by Karen’s to see about the roto-tiller she offered to let us use, but they weren’t home.

And now it is naptime.

Brush teeth

Some two-word sentences

Daddy home.

Brush teeth.

Read book.

Shoes wear.

Go places.

Amy games

1. Gotchoo

Played during naked time, on the old comforter in her room. I sit in the middle. She walks around me. At random, I reach out and grab her. If she gets impatient, she’ll get a sly grin and approach me, sometimes even falling into my lap.

2. Fill in the blank

While reading a book or singing a song, we might pause at the last word of a page or stanza, and she might fill it in as best she can.

3. Name-O and other action songs

Bingo (There was a farmer, had a dog, and Bingo was his name-o) is her favorite song. She just grins and bounces and claps her hands and yells B and name-o.

She also participates in Pattycake, Head and Shoulders, and Itsy-Bitsy Spider.

4. Throw

Today she sat in her rocking chair and we took turns throwing a tiny teddy bear towards each other. Neither of us were any good at catching, hence I’m just calling this “Throw.” She also still has the balloon from the bank a couple weeks ago, and likes to toss it around. (And sometimes, more often than I’d like, she throws things that are too hard or heavy or noisy to throw.)

5. What rhymes with dishes?

I started it, but she’s running with it. When I’m doing dishes, she’ll come in and say “dishes?” and I’ll say “Dishes! What rhymes with dishes?” And she’ll say “Kisses” and wait for some.

6. Tea

I’m amazed that no one had to teach her how to pretend with fake dishes, silverware, cups, and teapot.

7. Mirror

She likes to have hats or her headband or hairbows put on and then she goes to look in the mirror. She can ask “wear” or “on” or “off” or name items, and some things she can put on herself. (She also likes to wear shoes, and carry her purse, saying “ready” and “go” and “places” and “coat.”)

I’m sure there are more I’m not thinking of right now.

Amy waking up

16 months haircut

Today Amy turned 16 months old.

Coincidentally, I took her down the street to the lady who has a home salon, who tidied up the bad cut I did last fall.

We hadn’t touched her hair since then, except to trim the bangs. We’d like her hair to be simple, long, with bangs in the front but the sides hanging down. So when I trimmed the bangs I clipped the sides back — but they were still short enough that they’d hang over her eyes if I didn’t put clips in. And the rest was a bit shaggy.

The new cut isn’t quite what I expected — I thought she would have cut the back up to reduce the layers, but it looks like it’s more layered now. And to me it still looks like a mini-mullet. I’m very tempted to chop off that lowest layer in the back. Opinions?

But we gave up the idea of keeping the top / sides separate from the front bangs, and it’s overall tidier than it was.