Lorelei and I have been taking a Mommy and Me swim class once a week since June. I originally thought it would just be a summer thing (I wasn't even sure if she would like the water, but I was hopeful). Well, she LOVES the water and the pool, so we switched to a Saturday class once the school year started and have been happily kicking and blowing bubbles ever since. We love our swimming friends (both babies and mommys) and it is my favorite part of the week. Here are some video clips and pictures from a lesson in December. It is "foggy" because the pool is under a giant bubble that keeps it warm for the swimmers.
So you don't hear the whole song in the video above, but that was the end of Lorelei's favorite ducky song. She asks me to sing it to her in the bathtub a lot--she'll put her ducky on the edge of the tub then I'll sing and the ducky will jump into the water at the appropriate time.
Swimming lessons have also made bath time even more fun. There is lots of practicing of splashes, kicks, and bubbles. Lorelei often swims from one end of the bathtub to the other.
Above, our instructor, Kendra, helps Lorelei do a dive. Each lesson is an hour long and the kids practice jumps and dives at every lesson as well as kicks, arms, bubbles, and back floats.
Lorelei's backfloat. Perhaps she'll be a synchronized swimmer?
Hmmm...decisions, decisions.
Yup, the orange one! You can't go wrong with orange!
Lorelei has been choosing the orange ring since her very first swim lesson in June. In fact, that first lesson we had to take the orange ring into the changing room with us since she wouldn't let go. Although she likes all of the lesson, I think diving for rings may be her favorite. She drops the ring, says "uh oh" grins, and then points. Then, with help, she happily goes under to get her ring...off the BOTTOM of the pool (not just the little steps!).
This is the second dish I made from the same Real Simple article. I am not a big meatloaf fan, but the pictures looked so delicious and I am always looking for something new to do with ground turkey. This dinner was fantastic!! (Which is good, because it makes a lot for two people!) Turkey Meat Loaf 1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey (I used however much was in the package, closer to 1 pound) 1 yellow onion, chopped 1 bunch fresh spinach, thick stems removed and leaves chopped 1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (or your favorite mustard) 1 large egg kosher salt and black pepper 1/4 cup ketchup Several button mushrooms, chopped (leftover from beef stroganoff night; not called for in the original recipe) Note: I only used 1 pound of turkey, and adjusted the amount of onion, spinach, and parsley so that it seemed about right to me. The original recipe only called for the egg white, but I used the whole egg and I think, based on the...
So, I'm off to a great start with my new year resolutions (granted, it is still the first week of January) and for my first cookbook challenge I will be exploring Simple Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin. Okay, so I know that it is already clear that I love this cookbook (see earlier posts), but truly, I've had it for almost 2 years and have only made 5 recipes from it (Beer Pizza, Black Bean Chili, Orange Almond Cake, Spicy Peanut Noodles, and Nantucket Cranberry Cake). So last night I made Sweet Potato Chili and Flaky Wheat Biscuits for dinner. The chili was really good, but was so similar to the black bean chili recipe that it didn't really need its own recipe. I think in the future that I will play more with the black bean chili recipe and substitute a diced sweet potato for a can of beans from time to time. The flaky wheat biscuits were yummy and easy to make. Overall, both recipes were winners and will be included in future dinner rotations. Flaky Wheat Biscuits 1...
Comments