Dizzy Girl and Backwards Crab Walk

Yale and I can't stop talking about how funny Sophia has been lately. Each time I put Sophia to bed I find myself cracking up. Either she's trying to stick her finger up my nose while I'm reading to her, or she toots while I'm changing her clothes and blowing on her belly (and I have to say the farting seems intentional, at least the second and third time she does it), or she's accompanying me while I sing "Ba Ba Black Sheep". She spends most of the day-time hours trying to jump. It's hard to explain, but she kind of throws her upper body up and then almost lifts one of her legs. I guess she sees Olivia jumping, and it makes her want to be able to do it too. Spinning in circles until she's so dizzy that she falls down laughing is another a favorite activity. Olivia has always loved having books in bed with her. Sophia insists on taking a shoe to bed. She prefers shoes with laces. At the moment this seems to be her favorite toy, second only to her stuffed sheep. Olivia had her first swimming lesson today. I had the challenge of chasing Sophia around the pool and not letting her get into the water, while also trying to watch Olivia in her lesson. I was really impressed by her teacher, Melissa. I can't imagine that teaching 3 and 4 year-olds how to swim is a very easy job, but Melissa kept them busy by changing the activity about every 30 seconds. They did the backwards crab walk, walked like alligators, floated on their backs while she held them, practiced kicking, chased toys, and put their faces in the water. About 15 times during the 30-minute lesson, Olivia would spot me and shout, "Look at me, Mama! Look at me!" I think that means she was having fun.

Transitions

The past 2 weeks, our little family has been working on transitioning into some new situations. Sophia moved up to the Toddler Room at Parents' Day Out, so she has a new teacher to get used to. We all loved Charlie, who took care of her in the infant room. It was hard to say goodbye. Even Charlie got teary-eyed when she talked about saying goodbye to Sophia. We're fortunate because we know, and also really like, Sophia's new teacher, Ms. Dana. Olivia had her when she first started at P.D.O. Olivia has completed her first two weeks of preschool. Luckily the preschool is in the same building as P.D.O., which makes for an easier transition for Olivia, and an easier for me when both girls go to "school" on Thursdays. Olivia seems to really like her new teacher, Mrs. Mesa. Already, she has gotten to do lots of fun things, lik painting, making a Fruit Loops necklace, and playing with a big parachute. I'm also adjusting to our new schedule. Over the summer, both O and So went to P.D.O. twice a week, which gave me time to clean, do yard work, and I also tutored during that time. Now Olivia goes to preschool on Thursdays and Fridays and Sophia goes to P.D.O. on Thursdays. Now I don't get quite as much time to get things done, but it gives Sophia and I some time to spend together. This past Friday I pushed her in the stroller while I rollerbladed. I think she had fun, but she seemed a bit cautious. I was really hoping that she was flashing back to the last time I took her and her sister rollerblading and rolled their stroller as I wrecked!