Catch-up post: Tadpole

Here's one from the summer highlight reel. This summer was...umm...interesting. I dropped my consulting gig, Zeke didn't have school, there weren't regular playgroups, and we tried a little potty learning. We were at home a lot and that was an experiment that I will not likely repeat. (Apparently, I am only capable of maintaining my barest level of sanity if I have at least 8 hours of childcare a week, the amount that preschool provides.) We did try one new activity and that was to take swim lessons at our neighborhood, newly renovated with the tots in mind. It might be a little much to call them "lessons" though. I usually just referred to it as the "time with two teenagers and a kickboard" and by the end there was only one super bored teenager who for some reason did not have to go back to school like the other teachers/lifeguards. However, it was super super cheap -- about the same as we would have paid just to go to the pool and the pool was only open to us at that time. And, we definitely got our money's worth out of it. Zeke was very hesitant that first lesson and barely got in the water, let alone jumping in like some of the other kids. After the second "lesson" (again, we have to use that word very loosely), though, he had to be dragged out of the pool. Literally, dragged. In addition to going to the lessons twice a week, we went to the pool at least one other afternoon during the week. I was so sad that we weren't able to get a few more times before they closed on Labor Day, but we will both look forward to next year. Sorry no pictures of swimming -- there is a no photography rule at the pool.

One of the side effects of going swimming so often during the summer was that Zeke really changed his bath routine. Zeke has always really enjoyed taking baths, except for a very brief phase when I could only get him on the bath by letting him sit on a little plastic Ikea stool in the bath. It didn't take him long to get over his bath-phobic phase, but the plastic stool didn't go away and we could not get it out of the tub. Not a big deal, but a little inconvenient to take it on trips, which we had to do if we wanted him to take a bath outside of our house. After that second lesson, Zeke let me take the stool out of the tub so that he could lie on his stomach and kick and "swim" in the tub. He also started asking a lot for us to play the song "Tadpole" (lyrics listed below). He had heard that song before, but mainly in utero as Aaron used it as the sound track for Zeke's ultrasound video. Anyway, he asked for us to play him that song while he was taking his bath.

Tadpole, wiggling in the water 

Brand new world is there for you to see 

Lots of time till you grow to be 

A big frog like me 

Tadpole, haven't got a worry 

Biggest job is swimming peacefully 

Wonder if you know you'll grow to be 

A big frog like me 

Changes happen as time passes by 

Soon enough, you'll be grown 

With a home on a lily pad 

And some tadpoles of your own 

Oh, little tadpole, wiggling in the water 

Far from all responsibility 

Take your time till you grow up to be 

A big frog like me 

Tadpole, take your time to be 

A big, green grown-up frog like me