Splish-Splash, Munch-Munch

~We (my two boys and I), went swimming with friends on Tuesday. Had a blast. Lots of things happened that day...all memorable. Like, the EO took one of those swimming boards and tried to get the hang of swimming. He'd hold the board out in front of him, allow himself to float, put his face under water and kick his legs furiously. He wasn't afraid of holding his breath under water! That's a H.U.G.E. step and I didn't even need to show him that day! All I did was hand him the board and he did the rest! I was SOOOOO insanely proud of him!! And I told him so over and over again and again. And that just made him want to keep on trying. And he kept on at it the entire time we were there.
My little one wraps himself around me like the baby monkey that he is, in the water. My otherwise great adventurer, the one who climbs furniture, the one who thinks he's Speed Racer when he's driving his little red car complete with speedy turns and screeching halts, is not yet the little water dolphin that I hope he will blossom into. But the baby pool at this particular club was so shallow the water came up to his chest. Now one of the things that the EO loves to do is to jump into the shallow pool. I've been trying to get the YO hooked onto this water sport as well, thinking that it's so, well...him. I guess we were just trying in the wrong pools, because after a little gentle prodding, he was ready and jumping and just wouldn't stop! As far as the water chapter in my little boy's book is concerned, this is H.U.G.E.!!
But the most memorable memory of that evening was after the swim. After I had washed, dried and dressed my boys, I was busy looking after me. The EO was busy playing with the other kids, while my YO had kicked off his shoes and was stretched out on the divan, the absolute pose of relaxation. I clapped my hands and told my babies to get cracking, it was chow-time and the next day was school. I then turned around and the sight that met my eyes melted my heart...the YO was standing up, looking at his feet and the EO was crouched near his little brother's feet, helping him with his shoes. They were oblivious to the world around them and just engrossed in the task at hand, totally unaware that I was watching them with all the love in the world shining in my eyes...and a couple of tears as well.

~I went to sleep that night, feeling a lot of love. Luckily, it carried on in the morning.
My little cookie-monster and I were in the kitchen, early in the morning, packing up tiffin boxes, when he asked me for, what else, but a cookie. I opened the packet, shook a few onto a plate and held the plate out to my little one. He grabbed one and picked up the other saying, "Aar eitaa dadar." (And this one is for dada.) And ran off to the room to give it to his elder brother, leaving me standing there with a big, ol' happy grin on my face!