The Desert-Post I: Swimming

Since I took so many pictures on our trip down south last week, I decided to split them up into different posts as to maximize the pictures viewed. First off, the swimming...

Yes, the desert is hot. But not that hot at this time of year. Funny how high 80's and low 90's feels unbearable up north during the summer, but welcome in the desert in the fall. It provides a wonderful excuse to lounge for hours in the pool and not feel guilty. So that's what we did.

The condo is terrific because it's only steps from the pool. This particular pool has a nice set of wide steps that Padyn could easily play on. One game involved moving back and forth on the steps in different ways: hopping, skating, galloping...you get the picture. Padyn thought that was big fun.
As you can see, Daddy was also big fun in the pool. Padyn loved standing up on his shoulders and jumping off. I didn't post that picture here because it looks identical to this one my mom took this summer. Only the bathing suit and pool are different. Padyn is already learning the loveliness of one of Mommy's favorite pastimes: laying out by the pool. Soon she'll realize the experience can be maximized with a good book and some Diet Coke.
The noodle, as always, was the favorite toy for Padyn.
Kate was extremely happy in her little floaty boat. The seat part was a bit high in the water, so I made sure to hold onto it most of the time so that she couldn't tip over. Of course, no one is perfect. At one point, I turned around for 5 seconds to watch Padyn do something, and when I turned back, all I could see of Kate was her little feet sticking straight up in the air. If I hadn't been a swimmer and hadn't already had daughter who never minded getting dunked in the pool, I may have panicked when I saw my 6 month old upside-down, stuck underwater. Instead, I flipped her back up, took her out and held her for a while. She never even cried. Her nose ran for a bit, and she looked a bit shell shocked for a few minutes, but the episode didn't seem to bother her in the least. Just part of her normal routine: eat, poop, sleep, flip over in the pool and get stuck underwater.
(These pictures were taken after that episode, so you can see she wasn't traumatized by it. She was happy to get back into the floater. Nevertheless, I did not turn away from her again.)Our goal was to swim at least twice everyday. We didn't quite accomplish that, but we were in it twice our first and last days. I think next time we'll take at least one more day to do nothing but hang out by the pool and play. That seemed to be what we all enjoyed the most.
Does this look like a kid traumatized by an early childhood pool experience? I think not.