Imagine Swimming

This weekend Beia had her second swimming lesson at Imagine Swimming. It's a 40 minute class with three other babies her age. There is one adult allowed in the pool with the child, so with parents, there are only eight of us plus the instructor. The goal is to simply get your kid used to being in the water so that, eventually, they can learn how to swim. Beia seems to really enjoy it. We practice getting in and out of the pool. Floating on our backs, moving side to side—as well as forward—in the water. We also practice going under the water. Beia seems to really enjoy the water so we are hoping to continue the lessons each week, even past summertime. The biggest issue thus far is just fitting the lesson in between naps and feeding!

Buddies

Today it was very hot outside. At one point the temperature reading was 97°F ... feels like 110°F. So, yeah, we spent most of the day inside enjoying our air conditioning. In the afternoon we moved from the main room into Beia's bedroom to give her a change of scenery—it's not like our apartment is that big anyway. Dibi followed us in to her room and was quite the trooper. He allowed Beia to follow him around, trying to pet him gently. At times she wasn't as gentle as we (and presumably Dibi) would have liked, but Dibi never moved more than a foot or two away from Beia. He seems to trust her. Or at least realize that she's still fairly slow-moving and won't be able to reach him quickly...for now...

Family Portrait

A few weekends ago, Steve's younger brother and his wife came to visit and meet Beia for the first time. It was great seeing them—and we even got a nice (and rare) family photo of the three of us together. And if you look closely, you can see Tonka's backside between Beia's head and Steven's. We're looking forward to spending more time with Beia's Aunt A and Uncle T when we go to the Rubin family lake cabin (in Priest Lake, Idaho) later this summer. At that time, Beia will also get to meet Steve's older brother and his wife...along with their baby M. M is just a month and half older than Beia, so we can't wait to see how they play together.

Baby Naming

Last weekend we drove down to Maryland for Beia's baby naming. It was a special occasion in a few respects, beyond the naming ceremony itself. This was the first road trip for Beia and we were anxious to see how she'd do. This was the first time for Beia staying overnight anywhere but home. And this was the first time that Beia would be meeting so many new people all at once. All in all she did quite well. The road trip itself went fairly well, with only one or two meltdowns both ways. Can't really blame her, given how long the trip ended up being (5+ hours in the car). Steve's parents drove down with us, so we were all quite thankful for Beia's adaptability.

And adaptable she was. Beia slept, generally, quite ok at my parents house. We learned some important things for future trips away from home (bring a nightlight!) and we were a bit more flexible than usual with her naps (namely, we napped with her on the bed to help her sleep).

The naming itself was wonderful. It meant a lot to have both sets of grandparents there, along with so many Harris family friends. We were also lucky to have the Rabbi that married us perform the ceremony. He was also the Rabbi that officiated at my bat mitzvah and confirmation. He did, however, point out to us that we will eventually have to find a temple that doesn't involve commuting. He was fond of the Village Temple (in NYC)—mainly because the congregation would be the Village People...