Tigger

Louise & Claire went to see their first Real Movie in a Movie Theatre today, "Winnie the Pooh," at the invitation of our next door neighbours. Both girls behaved very well, and Claire was particularly taken by the "Tiger".

Louise is enjoying her swim lessons - she has made friends, become more comfortable floating on her back, and even doggie paddled about 10 feet with a bit of help from a flotation aid. She is much less reticent about putting her head under water and has even learned to pick up objects from the bottom of the pool. Today at the pool, she enjoyed striking fear into her parents' hearts by practicing floating - face down in the water.

But Louise was more timid about jumping off the side of the "deep" end into Mummy's arms than next door neighbour Alex, and she generally evinces a much stronger survival instinct than her sisters.

Scratch that. Her sisters do not have a survival instinct.

Our neighbourhood swimming pool does not have a "kiddie pool", and its shallow end starts at 2ft. Charlotte refused to wear any sort of flotation device (though she was eventually persuaded, with the help of peer pressure, to put a noodle under her arms). She was even more eager than Louise to put her face under water, though she had rather more trouble extracting it from the water. Claire happily waddled into the pool with her flotation aid, planted her face in the water, and started floating.

We have many faults as parents. Nevertheless, we do not have any photos of our children trying to drown themselves. The pictures below are from the Sportsplex kiddie pool:

Two year old brains

Charlotte at the dinner table this evening: "My Mommy...my Mommy...my Mommy. Claire's Daddy! Louise's Mommy! All same!"

Mommy (confused): "I'm Claire's Daddy?"

Charlotte: "Yep!"

Louise interceded on her sister's behalf. "Mommy, she's only two. She's confused. Two year olds can't think right yet."

Amusement park (with teeth inspection)

Charlotte & Claire went to North Durham this morning to ride an elevator. Between rides, they played video games, looked at tropical fish, selected some new toys, and rocked on large foam ducks. In a strange interlude, they put their heads back on butterfly pillows and a couple of strangers looked at their teeth. Charlotte took this weird interruption to her play in her stride, and her dental health was judged to be excellent. Claire struggled during the double insult of having her finger removed from her mouth and her teeth inspected, polished, and prodded. The technician found a few small areas of plaque buildup near her gums, and her two front teeth are a little distorted by the constant finger-sucking. Mum & Dad were told to encourage her to only suck her finger at night, but we were also told that there is no rush and she is not causing herself permanent harm. After the dental disruption, Charlotte & Claire took their new toys (a plane and a cell phone/notebook) back to their favorite toy of all, the elevator.

Claire "Wednesday Addams" Atherton was reading a charming book about a bear who did not want to hibernate during winter, but instead played with his friends. When spring returned, the bear went back to the cave. The final image in the book is of the bear cradled in his mummy's arms, eyes closed. "What is the bear doing?" Mummy asked Claire. "Dead," was her morbid reply.

Sporting

Some people are proud because their four year old can read; others brag about the kid's musical genius. We're shouting from the rooftops because our four year old let her sister win a race - and was cheering her sister's "victory"!

Charlotte is also capable of showing kindness & compassion. She loves giving hugs and kisses, particularly to Claire. She is no more musical than the rest of her immediate family, but she likes "singing" often and in public. At a restaurant today, she turned around in her chair, grinned at the people behind her, and started tunelessly and loudly sharing her version of "Happy Birthday". ("Happy BIRTHDAY...YOU...Happy BIRTHDAY...You...Cake!! Candles! (Blowing) (Clapping"). Less endearing, however, is her habit of hitting her sisters then quickly saying "Sorry! [I didn't] Mean it!" (smooch).

Claire delights us with her capacity to sleep. Her finger may soon need to be removed surgically from her mouth. She visits the dentist for the first time on Monday...might be interesting.

Fireworks

Louise is excited about the 4th of July holiday. She has been talking about fireworks, and this evening she and her sisters put on a display. ("No, Mummy, don't touch it! It will burn you!"). Before too long, Charlotte & Claire were practicing "Stop, Drop, and Roll." (Nana Chris would've been very reassured to know that no actual explosives were deployed in the house, but it's probably best to include fire safety when igniting imaginary fireworks).

Thanks to Granddad for the pictures! We returned to the Burlington City Park again today, where a good time was had by most (Claire wasn't quite herself). Charlotte & Louise had their most fun today, however, in the bath - they splashed each other and generally acted like children.

Low rider

...don't use no gas.

Louise was somewhat reluctant to part with Daddy & Mummy this morning, but she clearly enjoyed the opportunity to ride a pony at day care today:




















Charlotte & Claire explored dinosaurs...and whatever that orange stuff might be: