Swimming

As I have talked about previously, with the girls getting older, we are getting to do more and more with them which is lots of fun. We decided they were old enough to enroll them in swimming lessons this summer.  One of my worst memories growing up is my dad trying to teach me to swim at a motel on a family vacation. So, I definitely want to make learning to swim as good of a experience as I can.  We signed them up for two week lessons at Wilson Park pool in Fayetteville and they finished this past Friday.  Clara's age group had a parent in the pool with them. Margo was the one  lucky enough to be in the pool because swimming is not my thing (see above).  Esther's age group was just with instructors. Overall it went pretty well, but as most of you probably know, our girls have very different personalities. Clara is up for anything so she was really into it and progressed really well over the two weeks and did great. Clara's instructor was impressed with her and asked Margo why she was so advanced in the pool for her age. We had no idea because she had only been in a pool a couple times. We guessed she just came by it naturally from Margo because Margo loves the pool. Esther enjoyed being in the pool, but was not a big fan of the lessons themselves and wasn't really into participating in the lessons.  It definitely helped her with being better in the water but she did not make as much progress as Clara.  Esther was also sick for a couple days so she missed a couple lessons.
We are going to keep working with them throughout the summer and hope that they will pick up swimming and enjoy it.  We have a great aquatic park in Prairie Grove (especially for being a small town) and plan to visit it often.  We took them today and they did great. Clara is super confident so you have to stay on top of her because she will just jump in off the side even though she can not really swim. She loves jumping in and will do it all by herself with her floatie on.

First Day

Esther with the instructor

Here is a video of Clara jumping in today at the pool.

The big 4 for Esther

Today is Esther's 4th birthday. It is hard to believe that she is truly a little girl, not a baby or toddler anymore. She is a very smart, creative, and independent little girl. She loves to color and draw. She creates multiple masterpieces everyday! She is actually really good at coloring. She stays in the lines and is very creative with her color choice. She still loves to read. We read lots of books everyday. We plan to start working with her soon on reading. She knows how to spell and write several words. She knows all her letters and sounds and can recognize several words already, so hopefully she'll pick up reading fairly easily. She really likes to play dress up too. She got some new dress-up clothes and jewelry for her birthday this weekend and has played with them non-stop since. She picks out her clothes, dresses herself, can somewhat brush her hair and teeth by herself, open the car doors, get in her car seat and buckle herself in. She can fill her cup with water from the fridge door all by herself and helps Clara fill her's also. She helps set the table for dinner every night, helps unload the dishwasher, and puts away her own laundry. She also plays (and fights) really well with Clara. 

We had a party for her this weekend with our friends and family. She requested chocolate cake with purple frosting, butterfinger ice cream, and party hats! The kids had a fun time playing and the adults had a good time visiting.