Five Years with the Old Ball and Chain

Josh and I celebrated our five year anniversary last weekend at an indoor waterpark-hotel. It was awesome. We rode the waterslides, played a little water basketball, relaxed in the hot tub, and crawled around with Michael in the baby pool. Some of you might be thinking, why go to a waterpark for your anniversary with your child in tow??? But we truly had a wonderful time. There's something about being around laughter, and water, and children all weekend that makes you relax and enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

Daniel, one of my brothers, joined us on Sunday for a little waterpark fun and lunch. He is such a natural with Michael. Daniel was also a lifeguard/swimming instructor and he immediately started working with Michael on his swimming skills. Daniel tried to get Michael to do the backfloat, which Michael didn't like, and he crawled around with him in the baby pool too.

Michael's swimming skills are really coming along, I'm hoping that he'll be able to swim the length of the pool by the end of the summer. Just kidding, that's the goal for next summer. He is very much aware of when I am going to dunk him under the water. Yes, I dunk him. How cruel, right? I count out loud and tell him that it is time to go under the water and then I blow in his face to make him hold his breath. He's so used to this routine that I really don't need to blow in his face because by the time I get to three, he is already puckering his lips to hold his breath. It's so cute. He doesn't cry one bit when he comes up above the water. What can I say, he's a natural swimmer. As much as I want him to be comfortable in the water, I also want him to respect the water and the dangers that come with swimming. We will continue to work on that too.

All is well with us. We are really looking forward to our beach trip this weekend. Our week at the beach is one of my favorite weeks of the year. (I'm trying to load more pictures onto the blog, but the computer isn't cooperating so stay tuned...)