What a difference a year makes

Last year I was very excited to take Anne to the pool and to swim lessons. I thought she would be like every other red blooded American toddler and love the water. Unfortunately she did not. This picture gives a very accurate representation of how every time a toe set foot in the pool she reacted. Her reaction was one of two things: 1. Crying uncontrollably while simultaneously trying to push out of our arms because she's an independent little bugger and didn't want us holding her or 2. Crawling around, having the time of her life, but outside the pool.

This year I have hopes that she would like the pool better, being a bit older and hopefully able to understand it more. Of course, true to April style, we were at the pool on Sunday, in cloudy, overcast skies, windy and 69 degrees. I cannot resit pools. I love them so much. Whenever I am near water the desire to be in it, even if it's a little fountain in a downtown area, is overwhelming. So, there we were, at the pool the second day it was open. Well, Anne LOVED it. I was so thrilled. She had a little tank top inner tube that she kept on the entire time so she could float in the pool somewhat on her own. She was so fearless: she got her face wet, her hair wet, and did jumps and duck dives into the pool. We went yesterday as well and she added me not touching her to the list of things she can do. Every time I tried to hold onto the inner tube to keep her steady she'd say "No mommy! Let go!" Hehe! Little does she know if I truly let go she'd essentially face plant due to not having her balance in the water yet. Anyway, I'm thrilled she likes the pool. An added bonus is the 2 days we've gone, she's never slept better at night and with naps. Both days she slept 13 hours straight at night and taken 2-3 hour naps. I think this means we'll be going to the pool every single day this summer. :)