Date day

Today was my swim date with Rebekah. For pervert avoidance issues, I suppose, you aren't allowed to take pictures of the kids at the pool (go figure), so just imagine a little girl skipping with glee all the way in, asking about the BIIIIG blue slide...you see, my girl can describe any park by its slides. She knows their names, too, but it's the slides that really categorize which parks are superior. So, we rode the biiiig blue slide (a long, super-fun and fast water slide) 5 times and just "swam." I told her I would get her swim lessons so she could swim for real someday, to which she asked is we were just pretending. Fair enough.

After 45 minutes, she wanted to get a snack- of course, she chose Burger King and devoured a kid's meal. Like last time, she sat across from me for about 1/2 a second, then asked if she could sit "right next to you, Mama?" Um, yes. 1000 times yes.

Then, we remembered that the sports facility erected across the main street from us was having an open grounds day for the public to see. Josh, in his new-found health-kick, wanted to check out the gym because as a student he can get a membership for 11 pds a month (about $16). I also had heard about a bouncy castle (try explaining that to a 3 year old who is intimately familiar with castles).

The rest of these pics are to show you the ENORMITY of this facility!

This is Rachel- she is the daughter of one of the gals I talk with at the HUB- she is a big fan of Rebekah!

Loved the view...those buildings are on the beach, or at least very close.

Who knew they had face-painting?? Choosing a design and waiting in line were definitely the hardest part.

Excited that a design has been chosen...

Sweet thing is soooo like me and very cautious...

That may have been the last pleasant moment we had before her nap. Seriously, this has been a rough week. Plus, I am far from patient, so I have not exactly dealt well with abnormal defiance and meltdowns over things she usually brushes off. I am confident it is a stage, and I actually think she's growing, too. She is eating like a horse and have you seen her hair?- it's miles long. I digress, but do not feel like dwelling on a sore subject. :)

Anyway, onto something a little more heartening, Luke ate...wait for it...FRUIT today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He actually finger-fed himself some peach and some apple...granted the apple had peanut-butter on it, but we'll take it. This is a huge step. He was quite precious and very laughy today. I enjoy those days, they balance out moody big sister days. :) Plus, he is loving certain books right now and I love seeing his preferences come out- for instance, he loves the Bug Book, the Very Hungry Caterpillar, 8 Silly Monkeys, and a Jakers! sheep book Great Aunt Sharon gave them. The common denominator is they are all hands-on- the first 2 have holes in the pages and there is little more Luke loves than to put his finger through a hole. The monkeys book has raised monkeys on it and the sheep book says baaa when you open the last page and Luke brings it over, saying baaa himself. LOVE that kid.

I should mention that I chose opportune moments that had nothing to do with good or bad behavior just to look Rebekah in the eye and tell her I love her. I do this a lot anyway, but I felt it was crucial today as she was misbehaving and being disciplined or spoken sternly to so many times. I found that by the end of the day, Rebekah was taking her own turns to tell me how much she loves me. She also asked forgiveness for her disobedience and seemed truly repentant. It is so important to me for my children to know beyond a doubt that they are loved no matter what they've done, what they look like, or how they perform. I do not want them to feel like they have to earn my love or approval. It was sweet to see her feel secure in my love even on a hard day.

Incidentally, Josh and I have agreed that preschool is not the best move for Rebekah at this time. Since I stay at home and do not need her to be taken care of, we are going to try to defer until January, or even next year. She is guaranteed a free spot at 4 anyway, so that's no biggie. The immediate relief I felt at this decision was confirmation enough. My resolve is to be more intentional with her, though. I am not an advocate of early learning, as strange as that sounds. Rather, I am a believer in contextualized teaching through experience and as life happens. So, I will not try to teach her to read or do flashcards or anything like that because I believe that all children catch up with each other anyway, and I have no desire to do that or to burn her out early. (She has the rest of her life to do school- just look at her daddy!) However, I can play with her (and Luke) more intentionally and so I will.