Hair Vanity

Now that her hair is longer, Kate has developed a real sense of pride in her long hair. She likes to lean her head back in the bath tub and feel how long it is, or flip it over her shoulder. It's a sight.

It really isn't that long yet, but she is working hard on it. When I asked if we wanted to make it shorter for summer, she looked as if I'd just killed her best friend. How dare I suggest it.

She's particularly proud of the long pigtails she wore to Jo's the other day. So, i had to take this picture.

Michaela Phelps

Sam and Kate finished their swim lessons last night, and it was also the end of Non-Competitive swim team for Sam this year. (So many things are ending right now!) They both passed their levels with flying colors. I would say Sam passed pretty easily, which I guess is bragging, but I'm happy to do it. Plus, that's really what this blog is all about anyway. Bragging.

Passing Level 1 is not much to brag about, and I'm pretty sure Kate passed the first day.  But I am amazed by how much she is willing to do in the water. She's entered that scary stage where she really isn't afraid of the water, but can't swim yet either, so we'll really have to watch her this summer. In addition to jumping in off the edge and off the diving board (in a life jacket), she was also doing a pretty good looking backstroke with the jacket on too. I was amazed. I never know what to expect out of a 3 year old, but this seems pretty good.

When we were leaving, Kate went over to hug her very cute teacher Emily, and Emily told her how proud she was of her. I told she and Nick that Kate thinks that she is ready to do swim team with Sam, and Emily responded, "I wouldn't put it past her. I'm going to start calling her Michaela Phelps." I laughed of course, and removed my child from their teacher-hot-tub-private-time. I know she was joking, but in the back of my head, I'm thinking, "Does that mean she's exceptional? Could she really be an olympic swimmer? Should I force her to swim every day for the rest of her life?" Wow, we suburban moms really need to calm down and stop drinking the juice. I'll settle for water safety for now, I think.

FIeld Day

Sam had his first Field Day last Friday. It rained all week (as it has been for the last two weeks-- welcome to Seattle), but was dry on Friday morning. He's wet in these pictures because of the games, not the weather! Stuart was an official helper, so he took pictures of his station-- the Leaky Bucket race. As you can see, they had a great time!

Bikes

We're working on becoming better bike riders. We fell victim to the scooter frenzy, which requires much less actual coordination, and is closer to the ground, which led to a real preference for scooter over bike by Sam. It doesn't help to live on a hill. So, we've been going to parking lots to practice riding. Kate, on the other hand, LOVES to ride her bike. I warned Sam that Kate was going to be ready to take her training wheels off soon, so I think he's inspired to work a little harder.

They are both really getting so much better at it-- I thought we'd never accomplish bikes. It was already on  my bad mom list. I knew they could never be Rhodes scholars, because navigating Oxford would be impossible for my kids. I could hear it: "Yeah, I can't ride a bike because my mom didn't teach me when I was younger. Otherwise, I'd be studying physics instead of working at this McDonalds." Just blame the mom. Everyone else does.