My Little Green Duck

Yesterday afternoon after Joe got off work we headed over to my Mom's to go swimming in her pool. I wasn't really looking forward to this on this particular day. It had been a long and exhausting day and the kids were both grumpy right along with me. The pool was revitalizing! The water was the perfect temperature and even Remington, who is not much of a water bug yet, seemed to be enjoying himself.

This past weekend Bella had started jumping off the edge as we would catch her before she went under and this would delight her for hours, but yesterday as she kept pushing herself off the edge and away from the ladder she would start kicking like there was no tomorrow. Mostly this was working, at least enough it seemed to spark a hope in her that maybe she could swim. So over and over again she would push herself away from the ladder and slowly sink under the water.
This was enough to make me a tad nervous and excited, so I mentioned to her that Jared, her cousin, had a vest that he wore to help him stay afloat so he could swim.
Now, we have tried this vest many times before in the past and she has never been successful with it nor loved wearing it, but yesterday was different.
We tried the vest on, it was bright green with a zipper in the back, and she immediately jumped in and started kicking away, but this time, she was able to swim without sinking. Bella started giggling and yelling, "Momma, Dadda".
And that was that...she became my little swimmer!

I kept telling her she was just like a turtle in her little green vest and it took me a second to realize what she was trying to tell me. When I would call her a turtle she would shake her head no and say "Mom" and her hand was signing under the water "Duck". When I finally put them all together, I asked her if she wanted to be a green duck not a turtle and she said "shyeah", and swam away (with me trailing behind laughing)

On the car ride home through very sleepy eyes she kept saying "Mom, grrr "(thats her grandma Dee) and signing 'green' 'duck'. I would say, "Yes, Bella you were a green duck in Grandma Dee's Pool", and she would say yeah and go back to listening to her music.

So here's to you my Little Green Duck. I am so proud of you!!! I love you!