Swimming!

The girls are LOVING their Rosemary Pool swim lessons, so much so that Julia has been announcing each evening before bed, "I just don't know if I'll be able to sleep because I'm TOO EXCITED for Level Three in the morning!"  So proud she is that she is in Level Three this year, she feels the need to refer to her swim lessons by level number rather than activity.

JULIA: Level Three is SOOOO fun!  I just LOVE Level Three!

and

JULIA: Mama?  When is it time to go to LEVEL THREE??

and so forth.

The girls can't get enough of the pool, despite participating in both swim lessons AND free swim all in one day. To make up for all the rest of the time that they're NOT in the water, Julia and Madeleine have taken to playing "swim lessons" at home.  Julia is the lifeguard and Madeleine the swimmer.  Julia starts off each lesson by chucking plastic plates from our play kitchen onto the living room rug so that Madeleine can "dive" under water and retrieve them.  They then move onto strokes, which Madeleine is supposed to perform while scooting on her bottom across the dining room floor.  Julia is quite the perfectionist as a teacher: "So, Madeleine, your PINKY should be the FIRST thing out of the water, and your THUMB should be the FIRST thing back into the water," she commanded as Madeleine worked on backstroke.

Julia is getting to be an expert on backstroke, as it is her favorite of the various strokes she has been working on in lessons:

Julia backstroking.

Madeleine is not quite as focused and serious as Julia during lessons.  She will occasionally stop midway down her lane to shout out really important comments to me.

MADELEINE: Mama!
ME: Yes, honey?
MADELEINE: Do I look REALLY CUTE?
ME: Uh, yeah, you do.  Pay attention!  Keep swimming!  Stay focused!

Madeleine is slowly but surely perfecting her "alligator walk," the precursor to crawl stroke:

Julia's FAVORITE part of all comes at the end of the lesson, when she gets to jump off the diving board multiple times.  Thinking back to last summer, when she was terrified to try the diving board, I can't believe how courageous she has become.  Air Julia!: