Friday's Random Thoughts

I've been at the pool everyday these past 2 weeks. Summer swim season is now in full gear. And I'm a sight ... a sweating Shamu watching on the sidelines! Still, better to be pregnant where baby can have a controlled environment rather than left behind at home and unable to watch the kids swim.

This year Catherine (age 4) is taking lessons and hoping to make the swim team. We'll see.

Co-op is finally done. YEAH!! I have my Thursdays back.

Many changes going on here in our household .......

Isabelle is growing up before my very eyes! She's "developing" into a young lady. She loves talking on the phone with her girlfriends, having as many sleep overs as she can manipulate, and sharing books. She's latched onto the Percy Jackson series. She's on book 4 and hopes to get her books signed by the author (who lives here in San Antonio) in a week. I've become a chauffeur!

Anna also has a best friend that she loves to write letters to ..... even though she sees her everyday!

Sophia made her First Communion 2 weeks ago! She's still glowing. We went to mass every day for a week after her special day. This week we've managed to make it twice.

The kids have made such strong friendships and are thriving. Life is busy! A good busy! A tired busy!

Veronica has become a handful. She specializes in climbing, tearing book pages and writing on herself with markers. Also, she is being eaten alive with mosquitos. Poor baby is scratching and has a swollen eye from a bite in the vicinity. She doesn't look very photogenic right now. ;-)

I have yet to bring down baby boy clothes. Don't know why. I haven't bought anything either.

Well, gotta go. My dear friend and her large brood are visiting from "the woods" this weekend. Gotta go roll some enchiladas!!!

For the AFV Team

Just so I can't be accused of discrimination, these pictures are for the AFV Team (Advocates For Veronica) .................

What color are those eyes? I'm holding out for green. Craig says they're brown.

Guess who's standing up and walking along furniture? And climbing stairs? And getting into lots of trouble?

Sleeping .... again? She's developed this habit of only sleeping when being held. Good thing my girls don't mind!

At a swim meet ......

My version of a baby gate .......

Is the AFV Team happy?

Great Swim Meet

I just got back from Austin an hour ago. Isabelle swam her best Long Course ever! She dropped 10 seconds on both her 100 freestyle and 50 backstroke. And she dropped 3.5 seconds on her 50 breast. WOOHOO!!

I am so happy for her. It was such a confident booster when she came out of the water to find she had dropped 10 seconds on her freestyle. That definitely set the tone for her attitude the rest of the day.

Craig is always telling her to get "Your head in the game!" Today I think she really felt great and feels better about herself. She's been feeling a little down lately that she's been unable to drop her times.

I went online and searched about a bit and found some great articles and power point presentations from ....... The Woodlands Swim Team!!!! LOL!! Isabelle says she did everything they said and she's convinced it made a difference. The biggest piece of advice that helped: "Eat to train, don't train to eat!!" I could take that to heart, too! ;-)

I also bought her some teen vitamins with iron. And have been keeping up with her asthma medicine. We tend to get lax when she's feeling better.

Yeah Isabelle!!! I'm so happy for you today!

1st Summer Swim Meet

This past Saturday was our first neighborhood swim meet. My personal swim team has grown and I can now boast of 4 little fish: Isabelle, Anna, Sophia and Kolbe.

Here is our "honorary" swim team member, Catherine, who daily readies herself for playing in the baby pool:

Here is my newest swimmer, Kolbe!!! The first picture is him sporting his new goggles. The second is of him "upset" that he has to wear a cap. LOL!!

Isabelle swimming the butterfly:

One of these swimmers is not like the others

One of these swimmers just doesn't belong

Can you tell which swimmer is not like the others

By the time I finish my song?

Top left: Kolbe swimming freestyle. Middle Right: Anna swimming freestyle.

Bottom Center: Sophia swimming freestyle

*Actually he does belong!!

More Swimming Video Clips

Being the proud momma that I am (and seeing how swimming is taking up much of our summer time), I thought I'd share more video clips. Here are Sophia and Isabelle each swimming the 25 yd freestyle. My camera died before I could record their other events .... bummer!!

Again, apologies for my loud, annoying cheering. I just can't help myself! I'm convinced that my cheering helps push them across the water!! LOL!! Isabelle says she can hear me (how could she not) and that it helps her not give up at the end.

Sophia's 25 yd freestyle
Notice Sophia's ready position ..... or the lack of one!?! LOL!

Isabelle's 25 yd freestyle

Bella Swimming

Here are some clips of Bella's swimming this past weekend.

25 yd Breaststroke: Notice how she speeds up at the end and catches up!!!! Exciting stuff!!

25 yd Butterfly: This is turning out to be her favorite stroke. Her one habit that drives me ABSOLUTELY NUTS is when she looks to see the next lane swimmers. I've tried explaining that it slows her down and to just focus on herself. She used to look all the time. Now she's down to peeking once. I figure its probably normal, but still!! LOL!

She swam a total of 5 events. I didn't have enough memory to record the relays and I forgot to record her backstroke until she was already half ways down the lane. OOPS! ;-)

Sophia's 1st Swim Meet!!!!

This past Saturday Sophia swam in her first swim meet ever!! It was precious!! She has really been wanting to compete for some time now.

Saturday morning she woke up early and asked if it was time to race Isabelle! LOL!

Here are some video clips of my little Sophia. I'm amazed by her persistance and courage.

1st Video Clip Background:
In this first short clip, Sophia and the other girls are ready to dive in. However, there was a delay because a little girl DID NOT want to swim and was crying. Where was her mother?? She had been crying ALL MORNING. This clearly shows the contrast between forcing a child to swim (or do any sport) who is NOT ready and a child (like Sophia) who is SOOOO ready and eager to start. I don't understand why parents force children into sports when they are not ready.

2nd Video Clip Background: Sophia swimming in the 25 yd freestyle. Pardon my screaming in the background. LOL!! I'm really trying to cheer her on and can sense she's getting tired. Swim meets are so much like horse races!! I love the way she kept looking to see if they were beating her. When she got out, the first thing she asked was, "Did I win?"

3rd Video Clip Background: Finally, here she is swimming the backstroke. I was REALLY nervous because I'd never actually seen her swim an entire lap of the backstroke. She was so adorable and never gave up!! Isabelle was also cheering her on.

FYI: While doing the backstroke one is disqualified if one swims on their stomach for even a little while. Sophia made me nervous several times!! LOL!

Weekend in Pictures

This past Saturday Isabelle had TWO swim meets, one in the morning and another in the evening.

Getting ready for the 100 IM. She was nervous and I think that adrenaline helps her! LOL!

Swimming the breaststroke.


The morning meet was for our neighborhood team. She placed as follows:

1st in 100 yd. freestyle
1st in 100 yd IM (25 yds. each in bttrfly, back, breast, freestyle)
2nd in 100 yd freestyle relay (swam with three other girls)
2nd in 25 yd freestyle
3rd in 25 yd backstroke (silently contested by Craig. He swears her lane timers weren't on the ball. He thinks she really placed 2nd. But he didn't say anything. ;-)

The second meet was at Palo Alto and she was more concerned about beating her own times. Those meets are HUGE!! This was her first long course meet. She's still getting used to long course.

Isabelle waiting for her 1st event.

Doesn't she look like she's in "the zone"?!? If only I could get that kind of focus during her schoolwork. She honestly lives for piano and swimming. School is something she does on the side. LOL!

Isabelle about to push off for her 100 yd backstroke.

Swimming 100 yd freestyle.

Another shot of her in the freestyle.

At the end of the Palo Alto meet, there was much clapping and hollering because Josh Davis was swimming!! Apparently he's trying to qualify for a future Olympics?!? That's the rumor anyways.

He was amazing to watch and I wished I'd had my video camera. It was unreal. He swam as if he had battery operated arms!! In fact, in the middle of his swim, his body suit split in half!! He signed one of Isabelle's swim caps and I took a quick picture. Again, I had my zoom lens on so I had to scoot way back (almost falling in the pool) just to squeeze both their heads in. He's VERY tall!! LOL!

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This Saturday Sophia and Isabelle will be swimming for the neighborhood team in the morning. Anna refuses to compete and we have told her she doesn't have to swim in any meets. But she must practice with the team. I really want her to improve her swimming skills and have decided this is our family sport. This is the compromise we have worked out. Afterall, I've read the Swimming Parent's Ten Commandments and plan to live by them!! LOL!

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One last link: Here is Isabelle pictured with her swim club at the beginning of the year. She loves her coaches! She also swims under Coach Marcy for both our neighborhood team AND at her swim club for long course this year.

On Wednesdays the male coaches get together (after swim practice) to play water polo. Her coach sports a tiny pink speedo that makes Isabelle giggle. LOL!! Actually, it makes all the moms giggle!!!

Anna Piranha

Anna has made the Piranhas!!

She is on the pre-swim team. During try outs Sophia jumped into the water and "tried out" too. Poor Coach Derek had a heart attack. Sophia did complete 3 laps before being pulled out. She uses the wall liberally to help her finish the laps.

Anna did awesome. I knew she could do it. She's been a little shy about trying out. So instead of pushing her I've been letting her watch Isabelle. Now, she will be doing dry land with Isabelle's team and then swimming with the 8 year olds and under.

Sophia will probably take a few swim lessons and then try out again. The coach LOVED her determination, even though he almost collapsed! LOL!

Anna has always wanted a nickname. She is now called Anna Piranha.

Swim Meet Results

Isabelle did great. She didn't place but that was to be expected. This meet included kids from other cities who have been swimming longer than her. But we've started a log where she can record her times. Right now her goal is to beat her own best times.

This weekend she swam the 50 m butterfly, 100 m backstroke, and the 100 m freestyle for the first time. She beat her own times in the 50 m backstroke and freestyle.

She swam the 50m butterfly for the first time this weekend. She was VERY nervous. Now, nervous for Isabelle isn't the same kind of nervous as other people. She doesn't get scared and doesn't back out. She worries more about how well she's going to do. She didn't want to come in last. I think she inherited my competitive gene.

Well, she didn't come in last. *sigh of relief*

In fact, she was swimming wonderfully!! Her arms were coming out of the water. Some kids get disqualified for doing strokes under water. Her legs were wonderful, no flutter kicks. She was approaching the wall when she made a BIG mistake. She started a new stroke with her arms when she stopped half way and touched the wall. She DID touch the wall with both hands (another common DQ), but she was disqualified for not finishing her arm strokes. It would have been better had she just kept her arms in front of her and touched the wall. Or had she just completed the stroke and touched the outside of the pool.

Now she knows. But was bummed to be disqualified at the very end.

The nice thing is the judges are VERY sweet. They go up to each child and explain why they are DQ'd and then pat them on the head with a good job.

We have finally found her sport. She loves swimming and hates to miss practice. We've tried ballet, tap, gymnastics, and taekwondo. And although she had wonderful experiences, I think she liked her teachers more than the sport itself. She never minded missing those practices.

But swimming is a whole 'nother story. She craves getting in the water everyday. And she LOVES to swim against her teammates, neighborhood kids, father, etc. The head coach at the aquatic center loves her spirit and dedication.

Quick Hello

Just wanted to quickly say that the haircut is working! No regrets. I have to say that after my last posting I was VERY regretful about chopping her mane.

But I've grown to love it. And the fact that she seems to be cleaner. LOL!!

Isabelle had a swim meet today and swam very good. She is swimming the butterfly for the first time tomorrow and is rather nervous. She was ALMOST disqualified in the 100 breaststroke because the judge "thought" he might have seen her flutter kick. But he wasn't sure so he left her alone. I'm so glad. She would have been DQ'd during the first 25m.

Also, I ran into my college roommate today at mass. We went to evening mass across town and she spotted us toward the end. She ended up marrying a guy from my history classes. He was the 2nd smartest person in my class. We had an unspoken competition about our grades. You know who was the smartest, right?! LOL!

The only thing he could beat me at was geography. So, of course I told him that Isabelle was a whiz at geography. He just smiled at me and started quizzing her. Isabelle did me proud and got all the capitals right!

*In case you're wondering, he asked for the capitals of Kentucky, Idaho, and Maine.