"We swim!" said the two

So they swam and they leaped where the stream turns blue.

Yes that's right, two swimmers! Olivia has made the most amazing metamorphosis into a swimmer. So now we have two swimmers on the swim team. You may remember from years past that one of the perks to our suburban lifestyle is the Suburban Swim League. We have raved about the swim team and neighborhood community pool. How it's the best deal in swim instruction that you will find, a wonderful way to mingle with neighbors and make new friends, takes the edge of humid eastern summers, etcetera, etcetera. So now we are thrilled to have Olivia participating. Not only is she participating, but doing so with a huge smile. This especially warms my heart because last year we tried every trick in the book we could think of. Coaxing, pleading, incentive plans, huger incentive plans, the American Girl Doll incentive plan, firmness, kindness, anything and everything to no avail. She was not having any of it. She was physically capable, but psychologically still had barriers to overcome. There were tantrums, screaming, and other public scenes of our ineptitude as parents. So this makes Olivia swimming with a smile all the more sweet for us. I guess a summer of playing on the steps of the pool with friends slowly coaxing her in, swim lessons and some family swim Saturdays at the YMCA have made the difference (knock on wood, stroke your lucky rabbits foot, or anything else you need to do to not jinx this).

Here are some pics from our first meets:

This is the genuine smile I was talking about after her first ever race fresh out of the water. She even took the blue ribbon on this one.

Oh and by the way. The girl who would ride on my back in the pool at the Y has decided she wants nothing to do with the big pool and runs when she sees me coming.