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Facing fears (with arms wide open)

So you know how I posted earlier this month about how Josie learned how to swim? Well, we've got one heck of an update! As it turns out, taking the plunge (both literally and figuratively) unlocked this huge wave of bravery and further determination that has taken her through the confrontation of many more fears over the last couple of weeks.

The biggest fear crossed off the list? The diving board!

At the beginning of the summer, she timidly went off the diving board and had Louie catch her. She wasn't yet swimming and she landed right on top of him. She was nervous, chewing her hair all the way down the board, but she did it! Lou helped her to the side, I exhaled, and we all cheered. Later that night she asked, "Mama, how deep was the diving board water?" When I told her it was 10 feet deep, she did a little thinking then announced, "Okay, I'm not going off of it again until I am 10 feet and 1 inch tall."  It wasn't the height of the board that scared her; it was the depth of the water.  I think that's why she found herself doing THIS a dozen times in a row the week she got totally confident in the water.




(I really love the way she leaps, arms outstretched with a big YAAAH!, like "I got this!" Clearly, her power animal is the flying squirrel.)

Then, today after her final Level 2 swim lesson, THIS happened! She decided to go for it - without asking the lifeguard/instructor to catch her! Without Daddy in the pool. Without me even in a swimsuit!


After the second jump straight out (which is sadly cut off because my iphone is full, since ya know I tend to take a photo or two) she came running over to me for a victory hug!  We talked a lot about feeling proud and feeling brave.  It was one of those conversations that left me feeling unbelievable grateful to be a mother - to have been given the gift of shaping a human being. To raise a daughter.

But, my favorite thing about this morning's "Leap of Faith" was the way Josie herself explained it.

Telling the tale of her first big leap into the deep water alone, she explained: "This 4 year old boy in front of me said to the teacher 'I can do it by myself' and I thought 'if this 4 year old boy can do it, I sure can!' so I just got brave and I decided to do it! And, I DID."

I love that she came to the decision on her own. I love that she viewed it as a choice that she had. I loved that she pushed herself outside of her comfort zone. And, mostly, I just love HER so so much that sometimes, when her so-close-to-4-feet-tall-self jumps enthusiastically into 10-feet-of-something that scares the heck out of her, I can't help but to imagine what amazing feats this little girl has ahead of her. I am so lucky to be her mom.


(In case you're wondering - Bea is pretty sure she's big enough to go off the diving board by herself as well. You gotta watch that one. A little fear and a little less bravery in her case would definitely ease our minds.)

Now get out there and face some fears my friends!

Intermission: Mama Morning at the Aquarium

We now break from our coverage of the first week of July to report on a more recent event - today's "Mama Morning," otherwise known as "West Coast Wednesday," that took place today at the Newport Aquarium.

(Leave it to Cincinnatians to go from complaining about the rain one minute to begging for a break from the heat the next.)

It was a beautiful day.

Bea conquered her fear of walking on the glass tanks. 

And, Bea was finally deemed "ready" for the "Frog Bog" playground - with the thoughtful supervision of a gentle older sister. 

We arrived at feeding time!

Because no one is afraid to walk through the tunnels and glass bottoms anymore, we had lots of fun today in the tanks!

I love how they're looking at each other here. They have become the best of friends this summer!

Bonus Feature:  Two photos from last week's "Mama Morning" at the pool.  

And there are still "Mama Morning" Butterfly Show pics coming soon to a blog near you!

Can't rain on our parade

Okay, so if your homebase is anywhere near Cincinnati, then you are still probably lamenting the super soggy first week of July like we are. If you dwell in another land, you're just going to have to trust me. It rained and rained and rained and rained. When the rain stopped, it rained some more. There was no sign of it letting up for days and days and days.  This put a big ole' nasty damper on our usual 4th of July traditions! The Austin littles arrived on Wednesday with Grandma & DD and Tia & Tio followed late Wednesday night. We were all SO excited and looking forward to the whole rest of the week together. And we had lots of plans. Lots of big red, white, and blue plans.

But the weather forecast was not looking pretty. LUCKILY we got in a good chunk of time at the pool on Wednesday that sustained us as we faced a really gloomy rest of the week.

 Then, more rain. So sad. We were totally house bound. And it's possible the adults were even more pouty about it than the kids. They were pretty happy to all just play together. But, it didn't take long to realize that we had to have some adventure since our plans for the neighborhood bicycle parade, pool party, and fireworks were totally squelched. 

Fourth of July was starting to look more like this than we hoped...

Alas, we headed to the new Dinosaur Exhibit at Union Terminal & decided to make a day of it and hit up the other museums while we were there. 

Here's the recap of our day at Union Terminal. Clearly it was a day of learning, playing, and spending some good old fashioned QT with cousins and grandparents.

Bea in the turtle tunnel from the bottom

Bea in the turtle tunnel from the top (See Her?)

Even though the super-Americana-fabulous bows I bought to decorate the bikes stayed in the bag for next year, and even though the yard was too soggy for a bonfire or fireworks, we still had fun the week of the 4th. And...the clouds eventually parted just long enough to let us sneak in a trip to Coney Island. But, more on that in the next post.

Here's one more to hold you over while you wait...