Today

I'm doing it. I'm going to go completely out of order and write about today even though we're still in August in blog-land. I'm going to write a post without pictures. I'm just going to write. Because the days are slipping by way too fast, and I'm not recording anything! My baby will be eight months old this week - EIGHT MONTHS - and I've only recorded her birth. It's time to start just writing.

Today, Blaise learned how to go across the "monkey rings" (as opposed to monkey bars) at the playground. I watched him from a distance get out on the first one and fall. He climbed back up to the platform and got across two before he fell. Then, three. Finally, he got the whole way across. I don't know who was more excited, him or me. And at the same time, as I told Aaron tonight, I wanted to run over there and pull him off of the rings because I'm not ready for him to do that yet! That's what big kids do! Surely my baby boy isn't big enough to do that yet. And yet, he is. *sigh* I have a love/hate relationship with technology, but today I was so thankful to have my phone there with me. I recorded Blaise going across those rings and caught his HUGE smile as he finished. He was still grinning from ear to ear when I tucked him into bed tonight and told him how proud I was that he kept trying until he got the whole way across those rings.

Today, Zélie went into swimming lessons without crying. Sort of. :) I took her and Blaise through the locker room where their teacher met them to bring them into the pool area. Zélie went without hesitating and lined up against the wall next to her big brother. I peeked around the corner and saw her stand there, perfectly still, chin quivering ever so slightly, doing her absolute best not to cry. It was precious. And she did it. No tears. She's the tiniest one out there (...because I asked if they would allow a 2 and 3/4 year old to do lessons with her big brother. They're supposed to be 3 years old. She's tall enough so they allowed it!). She's so eager to do whatever the teacher asks and so cute while she does it. I especially love how her goggles suction her eyes wide across her face and how skinny her legs look when she's pitter-pattering around the outside of the pool.

Today, Lucy played peek-a-boo with herself at swimming lessons in the reflection of the window. This is her latest trick, and it's absolutely adorable! If I put her far enough to the side where she can't see herself in the mirror/window, she'll lean sideways until she finds her reflection. And when she does see that cute baby, she's all grins. This game is a sure-fire winner when we need to buy a little extra time. Fussy baby? Go to the mirror. She also started pointing today. Not intentional pointing like, "Point to Daddy," but more of examination pointing, like examining a small detail of a toy. It's so interesting to think about one day she doesn't do something and the next day she does. And there's no turning back. Kinda like the monkey rings...