The Dennis Diary: July 2012

For those that have never heard of Infant Swimming Resource, it's an organization that is committed to promoting water safety and drowning prevention. This summer and last summer, Rob and I chose to enroll Tripp in ISR lessons instead of traditional swim lessons. Both summers we used the same instructor, Robin Adams. Robin is absolutely wonderful with both children and parents and has helped Tripp to perfect his survival swim skills. Last year, Tripp learned to float on his own and to get into that float unassisted. This year, Robin and Tripp worked on the swim-float-swim technique to help Tripp "swim" from one end of the pool to the other. I use the term "swim" loosely because at Tripp's age, the "swim" is more of a glide than a true swim. We still have a long way to go before Tripp is doing laps up and down the pool, but I feel more confident having him around the water. I know he has the skills to get himself into a safe float, while waiting for help, if he ever accidentally fell in.

Tripp swimming to the wall

Working on his float technique

Yes, he's crying here. This pretty much sums up all of his lessons and most other children's lessons as well. Am I mean for making him do this? NO. I'm just trying to do whatever I can to protect my child and believe me, Tripp LOVES the pool. We go all the time and he doesn't shed a single tear. The only time he ever cries is when he knows he has to practice his float with Ms. Robin. I will say, it was a lot easier to hand him over to Robin this summer than last since I'm used to the lessons at this point. I know Robin is right there with him and would never let anything bad happen to him. Although, hearing him say, "Momma, all done...All done...All done, Momma" as he looked for me to rescue him was honestly a little tough. But really, all children should know how to safely save themselves if they ever fall into a body of water. I was actually talking to Tripp's Pediatrician about the lessons and she said they are the only type of "swim" lessons that the American Academy of Pediatrics endorses 100%.

So proud of my little floater!

Here are Tripp's current measurements. They were taken at his 2 year well-child check on June 25th.
Weight: 28.8 lbs. (61%)
Length: 35.5 Inches (86%)
Head Circumference: 19.9 Inches (92%)
BMI= 34%

Tripp is becoming such a big boy these days. It seems like he learns something new everyday. As much as I want him to continue to grow into a healthy boy, I also want time to slow down. It feels like only yesterday Rob and I were bringing him home from the hospital and now, he's a fun-loving toddler. Even though having a child has completely changed my life and prevents me from having as much free-time, the past two years have been the best years of my life. Tripp brings us so much joy. Here are a few of his current likes and dislikes:

Loves "choo choo" trains, especially "Thomas the Train," cars, dinosaurs, and animals (he knows the name of pretty much every animal)--A huge fan of both the aquarium and the zoo (we have annual passes to both and go all the time)--Loves the "Madagascar" movies (he's always asking to see the hippo "happo")--Has started to speak in short sentences--Says so many words now I can't even count them all. He adds new ones to his vocabulary everyday--Knows all his letters with the exception of "V" which he will commonly call a "Y" or "U,"--Knows many of his colors and will always get blue, green, white, yellow, purple, and pink correct--Knows how old he is and will hold up both hands and say "Two" when asked his age--Knows a few of his numbers by sight and loves to help me count--Has a little separation anxiety when Mommy or Daddy leave, but usually gets over it quickly--Loves to dance to any music he hears--Naps at 1 pm every afternoon and sleeps for 2-3 hours--Adores both my family and Rob's Mom and seems to get along especially well with his Pepere "Papa"--Loves to say "Go Dawgs, Sic 'Em, Woof, Woof, Woof, Woof" although his version sounds more like "Go, Sic 'Em, Woof, Woof"--Loves to say "go, go, go" when his Daddy is watching sports--Eats a variety of foods and likes broccoli, but isn't a huge fan of many other vegetables--Wakes up every morning asking for milk and pancakes, "milt and cancake"--Loves to ask for "juice," but doesn't really care for juice. He only drinks milk and water which is fine with me--Goes to bed around 7:30 pm every night and sleeps until 7 or 7:30 am--Can float in the swimming pool unassisted thanks to his survival swim lessons--Loves chasing the dogs around the house and gets so excited to see Layla and Molly when he comes downstairs every morning (he calls them "Yay-ya" and "Bean." "Bean" is a shorted version of Molly's nickname "Molly Bean."--Is super affectionate and loves to give kisses between each rail on the stairs before bed--Loves to read books (especially Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs and Ham," "Up," "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish," and "Hop on Pop")--Loves to be outside "side"--Says please "peas" whenever he asks for something--Loves to play with the kid apps on my iPhone--Is pretty cautious--Stays close to me and always asks to hold my hand "hands" when he is walking next to me--Likes to be the center of attention, especially when he's being cheered on--Has my eyes and nose, a mixture of my hair and Rob's (mine being curly, Rob's being stick-straight, and Tripp's a little wavy), Rob's chin, and Rob's physique (almost exactly..it's not super noticeable, but he's even a little pigeon-toed like his Daddy). Most people say he looks just like me, because his dark eyes are his most dominating feature, but he definitely has Rob's body-type--Will point to and kiss my pregnant belly when asked about his sister, Baby Camille--Must have his stuffed animal Butterfly "Bubba" at nap and bedtime--Has learned how to stall bedtime by asking to be read about 5-6 books--Loves to brush his teeth (future dentist maybe).