Mini Madness

Seven weeks of trekking to the pool every day came to an end today with an end-of-season wrap party, Mini-style. The twenty-plus kids in the Mini Marlin program showed off all of their hard-won skills in front of parents and grandparents, and then received a certificate and trophy.

Our two Mini Marlins ate up every part of the day. I love that they were able to do the whole program together, even though Clara was one of the very youngest in the bunch, and Joey led the pack, along with some other 5 and 6 year-olds.

Joey showed off his "bubble-arm-breathe-arm" freestyle in the first heat with the other more advanced swimmers, and then showed off his backstroke during his second event.

Joey's performance was no surprise, since we'd seen him compete in a "real" meet on Wednesday night, but Clara wowed us by swimming almost an entire lap by herself! She came just a few yards short in both of her events, thanks to dogged determination and absolute effort.

Here's our little fish all suited up and ready for her first time off the block.

First dive!

First solo trip down the length of the pool! She swam all the way to the teenage coach in the water at the far end of the lane.

Joey ran to the end of the pool and cheered her on, then gave her a celebratory bear hug after she climbed out of the pool.

We love all the strides the kids have both made in swimming this summer... their improvement has been anything but "mini," and we can't wait to see what next summer brings!

Dog Bed Dining

In case you were wondering, the Cecchina (the Cecchin Cantina), does NOT have a "no shirt, no shoes, no service" rule.

We even offer the ultimate in comfort and function for babies and toddlers: dog bed dining.

Making a Splash

Joey made it to the big leagues tonight -- in the water, that is -- and competed in his first swim meet. His goals? Make it across the pool and have fun! He rocked on both counts!

He chose to go the rebel route and sport orange Hawaiian-print board shorts instead of Speedos (read: we didn't spring for the team apparel this year). Here he is getting last-minute off-the-block advice from one of his teenage coaches.

Get ready, get set...

And he's off... press "play" to see a belly flop dive and his slow journey across the pool (52 seconds, baby!). He swam in a heat with two six year-olds, so I think he did pretty well!

After conquering the freestyle event, Joey moved on to backstroke. He happened to be in the lane closest to the cheering section, and loved looking over at his fans, especially his baby sister!

We capped off a very big night with some hot chocolate! 

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden gow?

With silver bells and cockle shells, and pretty maids all in a row.

Our newest neice made her way into the world yesterday morning and surprised almost everyone by being a girl! But Mary Adele Stecher rounds out all the "pretty maids" in her family perfectly, and we're thrilled that she's here! Congratulations to Shawna and Matt!

Little Fish

As a teenager and college student, I spent four summers in a row lifeguarding at a water park, supervising hordes of young kids and adults as they braved wave pools, water slides, and regular swimming pools. I loved seeing kids of all ages conquer their fears and embrace all of the crazy wet adventures to be had at the waterpark, but my favorite guests were always the few, gutsy little toddlers who managed to pass a daunting swim test in order to receive a coveted wristband that enabled them to go on any ride they wished, despite their height.

Watching two, three and four-year-olds bravely jump into the deep end of the pool and wriggle and kick their way across it was, for a lifelong swimmer, awesome to see, and I remember hoping I would one day have a brave little fish of my own.

While Joey is water-safe now in the deep end of the pool, and is even learning strokes like butterfly and breaststroke, it's our little Clara Jane who most reminds me of the kids I used to admire as a lifeguard. Still sporting a toddler tummy at 3, she has a fearlessness and devil-may-care nonchalance around bodies of water -- no matter their depth -- that is both terrifying and awe-inspiring.

At the beginning of the summer, we enrolled her in in the same 6-week learn-to-swim program that Joey completed last year (and he returned at a more advanced level this summer, too). She had a rocky start that had more to do with three year-old defiance than any true fear of the water, and she sat through most of her lessons on the pool deck, swinging her legs in the water and ignoring the coaches.

But in mid-June, on a trip to see Hop and Mop, she decided on her own time that she was a swimmer, and during a visit to their neighborhood pool, she suddenly seemed to have absorbed every technique she had learned in class so far. Here she is showing off her new fish skills that day (and Mommy wasn't even there to see it, after dealing with the poolside tantrums and tears for two weeks straight!).

From that point on, she was unstoppable, gathering confidence with every trip to the pool, every opportunity to put her head under water, every chance to swim, mermaid-like, around the shallow end of the pool.

But two weeks ago, her skillz went to a whole new level... after seeing Joey and his friends launch themselves off the diving board over and over again, she decided that she, too, had to master that challenge. After just one false start that involved getting off the diving board and "practicing" just beside it by jumping off the edge into nine feet of water, she got back on the ladder, went to the end, and jumped.

She hasn't stopped jumping since.

She's my very own brave little fish, and I'm loving every second of it!

Little Piggies

Somebody was sporting pigtails for the very first time today. Aren't they adorable?




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Peanut

Have you heard the news?




Molly May is 14 months, and STILL a peanut. We took her for a weigh-in on Monday, and she's slipped from the 5th percentile in weight to the 3rd, at 18 pounds even.

Her pediatrician doesn't seem overly concerned, but we've been instructed to just keep trying to fatten her up with high-calorie foods.

If only we all had this problem!

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Tubing in Tahoe

Last weekend, we rented a powerboat and an intertube with our friends Thomas and Sabrina, strapped five kids into life vests, and motored off to the center of Lake Tahoe to school our kids in the age-old sport of clinging to the plastic handles of an intertube while bouncing around in a choppy wake.

Equally hilarious and nerve-wracking, the trip turned out to be a giant success with the kids, who a)didn't mind Tahoe's ice-cold water; b) might even be ready for skis in a few years; and c) may have had the most fun laughing hilariously from the rear of the boat as their parents took turns being tossed from the tube.

I know, I just called the rear of the boat "the rear." There's a more technical term for that, isn't there? Luckily, we had Uncle Kyle with us, along with all of his Coast Guard know-how. He drove and docked the boat, and actually was by far the most responsible party on board. It was a day of firsts.

All of the kids tried the tube at least once, but Joey turned out to be the tube hog of the bunch. If he looks like he's in a Zen state of mind in that tube as the wake spray splashed against his goggles, and the snow-covered mountain ranges whizzed by, it's because he was... he only broke out of his trance long enough to give a thumbs up every now and then ("Speed up, Uncle Kyle!").

The other highlight for the kids was disembarking at the tiny island in Emerald Bay, which boasts a small, dilapidated stone "tea room" in the shape of a castle. We had them at "hello." Most of the adults got off the boat and helped the kids clamber up to the top of the island, and all of the little explorers loved it!

Of course, we had an ulterior motive for this crazy expedition. There always is one.