Guppin' It Up

This year I had great intentions of signing Emery up for swim lessons during the summer prior to our trip to Florida.  Then all of a sudden I looked at the calendar and was shocked to learn it was late May.  Apparently all of the other Katy parents were not so shocked because when I called to get something set up there weren't any spots available.  Whomp whomp.

After watching a child that inherited my grace run around the deck of the pool at our new house I had a restored commitment to getting her in some swim lessons.  A few calls and an awesome stroke of luck later we signed Emery up for a 2 week Guppy class starting on August 31st at Houston Swim Club.

If you're wondering how on earth we could manage to get Em to class every day straight for 2 weeks when I can barely manage to remember to clean out the lint trap in the dryer, you aren't alone.  The answer is simple- Nonnie to the rescue.  Between Ryan, my Mom and I we split up evenings to accompany our little Guppy.

So, how did it go?  Welllllll - the first evening she screamed pretty much the whole 30 minutes.  I'm talking gut-wrenching, heart-pounding screaming.  She was that kid that you heard other parents remarking about.  I was sitting behind the glass drenched in sweat.  I think I will always remember that first time she was floating on her back, looking up at the ceiling and screaming so loudly that everyone in the place heard her.  I don't believe I'll be alone in that memory.

However, as the week wore on she slowly got more and more comfortable.  Her teacher, Mr. Hassan, won her over, which, as you know if you read this blog regularly, is no easy feat.  He was truly so good with her.  By Thursday or so of the first week she was no longer screaming.  We actually heard some parents of other kids in her class remark how far she had come.

Hey, little boy next to me, why are you not as offended as I am by this whole thing?  (I apologize for the graininess of all of these photos- it's tough to take pictures with an iPhone through glass.  I trust that her emotions shine through.)

Note that everyone is watching her.  Could be because she's cute.  Could be because she's in hysterics.  It's really anyone's guess.

Testing out the acoustics in the joint.  They're stellar.

I don't think this was night one because she doesn't look completely disgusted.

I can't even bear to watch this misery.

My little pink guppy.

Week two was a bit more challenging.  At the beginning of week 2, she was coming off of a Labor Day weekend chock full of swimming with her floaties on.  Tuesday she got a little too comfortable on the ledge, forgot about her lack of floaties, exercised the clumsiness I donated to her DNA, and stepped off.  The lifeguard was right there, grabbed her and put her back up on the ledge before she even had a chance to cry or know what happened.  It was good that it was Nonnie evening because if I had been there to witness it there would have been tears.  

The rest of the week her teacher was pushing the class a little harder by holding on to their backs less as they floated.  Again, thanks to the genes I've instilled in her, Em is not a fan of things that are uncertain or new.  So she was definitely not on board.  There was a lot more screaming.  Overall though, by the end of the week she WITHOUT question is more comfortable in the water and is well on her way to learning some crucial water safety skills.  Above all we are proud of her for continuing to try even though we know she's been scared.

We absolutely adored Houston Swim Club, most especially her teacher, Mr. Hassan, and will definitely be doing more swim lessons there in the future.  We are so, so, so, so proud of our little guppy and how far she's come!

How do I know this is week 2?  Because Mr. Hassan isn't right next to her ear in an attempt to talk over her screaming.

I captured an actual smile.

Sure- I'll let you take a pic, but I'm going to pick my nose at the last minute.  I always win, Mom.

Cutest school of fish I've ever seen.

Hugs for the graduates.

Gimme that certificate- I have a lollipop to get to, sir.

Mooooooving On Up

A couple of Fridays ago (October 11th), on my way out of school after picking up Emery the front desk grabbed me and gave me the letter I'd been dreading receiving.  The following week Emery had to move classes.  At Em's school moving between classes is milestone-, and availability-based.  (I should probably insert here that these "rooms" are only separated by a half wall so the tale of heartache you're about to read is probably a tad on the dramatic side.  That doesn't make it any less real though!)  

The first milestone to change classes was mobility.  I have known this since we picked this school last November.  So since the day Emery started crawling I knew our number could get called at any moment.  This knowledge did not keep me from welling up when I read the letter though.  Nor did the clear understanding and acceptance of WHY this milestone was instituted (envision your child laying peacefully on the play mat, as my Babyzilla-esque child crawls right over them).   Nooooope.  Definitely still was super sad.  And kiiiiiinda weepy.  And kept randomly bringing it up to Ryan over the weekend in a completely dejected tone.  I'm such a mature, well-adjusted adult.  (Have I mentioned how accountants don't handle change well?)

So on October 15th, our tiny diva made the switch from Infant A to Infant B.  She appears to have had a stellar first week, and to no one's surprise, handled it far better than her Mama.  Her BFF in class made the move with her and they were both reunited with 2 little girls who are a couple of months older and made the transition a few weeks back.  I know in the end it's better for Emery as she needs more stimulating toys and things to look at.  That is what I will keep reminding myself of when I feel sharp pangs of nostalgia when I pick her up/drop her off and wave at her old teachers and look at her old crib. 

Also, despite knowing they do not read this blog, I would like to put it out into the universe that we are incredibly, incredibly thankful for all that her Infant A teachers did for her.  We could not have asked for better caretakers, teachers and leaders for our sweet baby.  We look forward to all that her Infant B teachers will teach her in the coming months- they definitely have some big shoes to fill.  We're proud of you, baby E!

On the left is the first day she went to Infant A at almost 3 months (for her trial run on May 29th) and on the right is her first day in Infant B at 7 months and some change (October 15th).  Isn't it mind-blowing how much she has changed???

Babyzilla in action.  Imagine your child was Sophie.  Perhaps it was time.

The FIRST First Day

On June 4th, I started back to work, which meant it was the very FIRST of many first days of school for Miss Emery.  I can't even lie - it wasn't easy and it did break my heart.  However, 3 important things helped me get through the day.

1)  We took her for about 4 hours as a trial run the Wednesday before and she did fabulously... or so they tell us.  :c)

2)  I know she's in GREAT hands.  I really like the school she goes to and her teachers are wonderful.

3)  Luckily, Mama didn't have to drop her off.  Ryan had the week off so Daddy had drop off duty.  I know the waterworks would have really been out of hand if I had done it myself because Ryan said he had a tough time with it.  Ain't nobody got time for that much mascara re-application.

How did I survive the first day?  Fortunately, I genuinely enjoy my job and I enjoy my co-workers even more.  This combined with returning during quarter, and after a little reorganization, kept yours truly pretty distracted from the fact that I was missing half of my heart.

Heaven knows circumstances and situations change constantly, but I know that this is the right decision for our family right now.  As heart-wrenching as it is to be away from our sweet angel, I know it's a necessary evil to be able to provide her the things I want her to have.  I genuinely hope that one day when she is a mother herself, if not sooner, she understands and appreciates what Mama did for her.

Thankfully our sweet ladybug seemed to do just fine on her first day!  I am willing to bet she handled it far better than I did.  She didn't (and still doesn't) nap very well there, but we expected that.  She will get there some day.  :c)  I look forward to seeing how much our little boogie grows, changes and flourishes over the next year. We're so proud of you, sweet pea!

Happy little school-goer!