Some firsts

This weekend we decided to give the Baby her first taste of solid food… if you can call rice cereal mixed with water “real” food.

At first, she was confused about what exactly we wanted her to do with the foreign substance we had put in her mouth…

But, being a cooperative, trusting sort of child, she suppressed her fear and went along with it…

And, a few bites in, she realized that solid food might be a good thing…

It might even be lip-smacking good…

And, in the end, this first encounter with “solid” food was worth smiling about.

Also in the category of “firsts”… the Toddler had her first swim lesson last night when she joined the Preschooler for a “buddy lesson.” {We’re hoping the girls will act more like buddies in the water than they do on land right now}. The Toddler doesn’t have as much of a fear of the water as the Preschooler did at her age, but she has some strong opinions about what she wants to do in the water. Therefore, she will be an equally challenging student, I’m sure.

Both girls were super excited about getting back into a pool and doing a class together. The Toddler’s enthusiasm fizzled, though, when she realized she wouldn’t be in charge of the lesson. At one point, the instructor {who is great with this age and all its challenges} threw a ball out into the middle of the pool and wanted the girls to each take a turn swimming out into the lane and grabbing the ball {supported by a noodle and assisted by the instructor herself}. The Preschooler had some hesitations about doing this last year, so in typical Preschool-er fashion, she cried a bit about how scared she was to venture out into the 5-foot waters and clung tightly to the instructor. This year, though, she is feeling more confident, and she willingly swam right on out to the ball and happily retrieved it. The Toddler, meanwhile, in typical Toddler fashion, had to be forced to swim in the direction of the ball while she resisted and yelled, “This is stupid!”

Granted, it may seem silly to throw a ball out into the middle of the pool only to have to go fetch it yourself. Still, I think I’d rather her cry than offer her commentary on the matter.

The Spouse and I were so embarrassed. It may be a long month of swim lessons.

The serious student… ready to listen, ready to learn…