Mama's Midlife Mire: My Little Kiki

My baby's coming home!

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:26:58 GMT

Well, I'm heading off to bed soon because I have to pick up Kiki at the airport early in the a.m. She didn't get her hair dyed pink; bummer! I guess in order to do that, you first have to bleach out/strip the color then dye the pink, and the sylist didn't want to do that on a young girl. Which is probably a good call! Guess I'll have to take her to the beauty supply and find some sort of non-permanent color, just for fun. She said she's had a great time but is totally ready to come home. That's nice to hear .

I've done absolutely nothing while she was gone...sit outside and read, mostly. LOVED it!!

I'm all alone - WeeeHAAA!!!!

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:23:46 GMT

Well, I am all alone - Kiki flew off all by her little self yesterday! It was so cute - just minutes before boarding, another little girl walked up who was also wearing the "Unaccompanied Minor" lanyard, and carrying a stuffed animal! You must know Kiki had her horse with her - her very, very special buddy! So Kiki gathered her courage, walked over to the other girl (who was probably a couple years younger than Kiki) and asked her if they could sit together. She agreed, and aparently they had a fabulous flight! She told me when we talked on the phone that Grammy's gonna take her to her salon for a haircut, and that she is going to let her dye her hair hot pink. Lol. What is funny (in a sad, strange and annoying way) is that Kiki's been wanting to dye her hair for ages now, and daddy kept saying "no". (I'm the "Heck, why not?" kind of mom) But, when Kiki asked Grandma to take her, and Grandma asked daddy - her little boy, ya know - if it was okay with him, he said "yes". What the?? 'No' to me and Kiki, but okay if his mom asks?? What is that weirdness between a grown man and his mother??!! I'd have had a lot to say about that, except that it worked in Kiki's favor and I don't personally care what color her hair is, so whatever. It will be interesting to see if they really go thru with it. If I recognize my own child when I go to the airport to pick her up.

So today I have done absolutely n o t h i n g. It's been quite lovely. I've been able to hear my own thoughts, which is a wonder. Not that I've liked them much.... I suppose I need to find something to do!

My little girl - on her own in the big, big world..... well, not quite alone - she has her "stuffie" (the horse!)

She was a little bummed that she didn't get to fly on "Shamu"...

Why O Why

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:34:06 GMT

Why is it that I allow this child to make me crazy?? She get these ideas - far too complicated and not planned ahead enough - and I jump right on board. No wonder I am nuts. And never get my house clean. We live in a little town. One stop light kind of deal. This weekend is our 'big' annual celebration and parade. Kiki decided she wants to be in the parade. Today we are trying to make a costume....actually, she has a costume, she's going to be a pirate. She wanted to walk Merry in the parade, so we got a box and were trying to make Merry a costume as the Treasure chest. Well, it's perfect....in my head! In real life, the dog is completely freaked out over the prospect of having a box on her ( I should've known this, given her personality) so now I'm not sure what to do... we could use a wagon... but we haven't got one... sigh.

And today is Alan's birthday. We still need to go shopping. I wanted to get my annuals planted today (it's been pouring rain since the day I bought them, today is finally sunny) but that planting may not happen.... ugh. First week of summer and it's already falling to pieces!!

Alright, pulling myself together.... think I'll go take a shower.

Help! My 10 year-old has insomnia!!

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 07:50:42 GMT

This is so true ~ from an article I read on the internet, about childhood insomnia ~

"A child waking up in the middle of the night is a crisis forthe whole family," said Goetting. "It destroys quality of life.The emotions accompanying the event start with sympathy andcaring, but if a parent can do nothing and the child can't goback to sleep, feelings of anger and frustration emerge."

I am beginning to get very frustrated with the situation here. About 2 nights a week or so, Kiki cannot fall asleep. Tonight, for instance. She's been in bed for almost 3 hours, but she's not yet asleep. At first, she gets sad. Then she gets frustrated. Finally, she gets angry and completely irrational. She starts crying and yelling, and kicking in her bed...she says she wants to go to sleep but can't. I don't know what to think. The first several times I got mad at her and thought she was just being a brat, but then Alan found out what was going on, and told me he had the same trouble when he was a kid....weird. Often, after all else has failed, I bring her downstairs and put her to sleep in the guestroom. That usually does the trick...I don't know why...change of scenery?? She likes her bedroom, likes her big comfy bed....so I don't know. Certainly the kitten hasn't helped...about bedtime he gets all wound up and starts attacking her toys and things, (mind you, the minute I brought Kiki downstairs and put her in the guestroom and shut the door, the stinky cat curled up on the office chair in here and is sound asleep...I think cats are from the devil! ) Kiki's room doesn't have a door I can use to shut him out (it's the upstairs bonus room, not actually a bedroom) Tonight she was practically screaming at him because he was "irritating" her. I could hear her and I was downstairs on the opposite side of the house. This can't be good for her, and it is certainly messing up my sleeping.... I don't know, maybe she's stressed or something? Does she need counseling?? I am going to try to put her to bed earlier and on a more regular schedule. I read that this is supposed to help. Being an only child, we tend to let her stay up...she's just "one of the little gang", so to speak - not to mention that since several days a week we don't really have to get up early, I tend to be lax about bedtime. Because I prefer to sleep in. Other than that, I am at a loss...if the bedtime shift doesn't help, I have no other ideas.... Does anyone else have any ideas??

Kiki's Sleepover ~ so far, so good!

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 06:27:20 GMT

Ten years old...my baby's growing up!!

Well, the girls are in bed, and since I've heard no noises from up there in awhile, I'm guessing they are asleep. This other little girl is so much like Kiki!! It's unreal. I guess it's why they are "BFF"'s, lol... Kiki tends to be very bossy and wants to be in control of "the game" (whatever that might be) and she definately has her match in this friend! I was listening to them play... It goes like this: "okay, so I was a princess, but you didn't know that, and you own a shop, and I'm going to be coming in..." This is exactly the kind of thing I hear coming from Kiki on a regular basis, and it drives her cousins nutty...I'm always telling her "honey, you need to just let the game flow and let everyone use their own imaginations..." Today, though, these words were coming from the other girl! It was great! And they had a fabulous time playing all day, without a fuss at all. They put on a play for me (must have changed clothes 27 times each!) and played "music" (calling it that is a stretch!) out front - hoping to make money as street musicians, lol. Maybe if we were downtown or something.... They watched a movie and had popcorn...simple little stuff. When the friend called her parents to tell them 'goodnight', I overheard her say "this is the greatest party ever so far!!" Wow. It's not even a party, but I'm glad they're having fun. Tomorrow is the big "Best Friends Party For Two" at the kiddie salon. They are sooo excited, I hope it lives up to their expectations!

Sending Kiki off to Camp!

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 06:43:17 GMT

I tell ya....my summer is just crazy busy! I have spent the last couple days unpacking, doing laundry and then repacking for Kiki's trip to camp. Actually, Kiki took the "stuff to bring" list and did the packing all by herself! I double-checked, and she really did get it all ~ I am so impressed! She is so so excited! She's going to a church camp up in the mountains, and she and I have gone there together the last 2 summers for "Parent-Child Camp", but this will be her first year to go all alone - like a big kid! Tonight at bedtime was the first time she admitted to being a little nervous... I should think! Even at home she doesn't want to sleep in her own room without me... how is she going to do at night so far away?? I know she'll be fine during the day...she is familiar with the surroundings, for one, and besides, they keep the kids busy and she is very outgoing and she'll do great. It's the homesick at bedtime I worry about. Yikes. I'm proud of her for being brave enough to try. Alan says he would never ever have left his mom at that age. (big baby, lol!) She is the same age I was when I went off to camp for the first time - however, I did have a friend who went with me. So, tomorrow we will be driving 3+ hours each way to drop her off. I am feeling kind of nervous. My little baby! It's a good thing....it's a good thing..... Well, I need to go roll up her sleeping bag (I took it to the laundramat yesterday; the last time it got used was by my nephew on a trip to New Orleans to help the clean-up....eeeyyww...) then I am going to write some letters to leave for her at camp... they will hand them out to the kids each day for us. Saves me the stamps!

Not only that....

The Anniversary bash for my parents' 50th is next Sunday, so I've got all that going on... my sis and I went and got started on decorations today. Then there's the cooking....

Alan has determined that since I will be "Kiki free" for a week, I should be able to get every single job around this house done, the whole place immaculate and decorating done so we can put our house on the market. every - single - job. Uh, where has he been the last few years?? Has he not noticed he is married to "incompetant ADD wife"?? Does removing the child for a week suddenly turn me into Martha Stewart? Is he completely dense???!!

picture me here pulling my hair out in exasperation.....

Okay, okay... I am going to go get my jobs done so I can get a little bit of sleep tonight....

It's Curtains for You!

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 00:52:18 GMT

I posted some pictures of the dress my mom made for Kiki for Palm Sunday (and she'll be wearing it on Easter, as well). This is the one made from some old drapes of mine. The pics don't really do it justice; it's prettier than you can tell here.... The only thing I wasn't real thrilled with was the decoration on the waist, and that was my part of the dressmaking! I was thinking flowers, but when we got to the store Kiki saw the little bird and had to have it. By this time it was right down to the wire the night before, so I pretty much threw it together and pinned it on...and you can tell! I'm going to re-do it before Easter Sunday. But I thought you all just had to see it!

Palm Sunday Singers

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 17:47:06 GMT

Yesterday, we had to have Kiki at church by 6:45 am....criminy. She was in a kids choir (3rd - 8th graders) for a special Palm Sunday service...and, our church has 3 services, so it was a very long day! It was pretty cool, because the whole worship band was made up of jr. hi kids, and then the choir Kiki was in...there were just 10 of them, and Kiki was the youngest. By 3rd service she was kind of playing with her hair and twirling her "poofy" dress, but I figure with her borderline ADHD and the whole long day deal, she did really, really well. They all did - they led worship beautifully. Then we had the "Triumphal Entry of Christ"...with a bunch of little kids from the Sunday school classes following, dancing, waving palm fronds....the coolest part is, we have this guy in our church...I'd guess he's in his late 20's, maybe 30-ish....anyway, he's usually the keyboard player in the worship band...well, he's from India, and honestly, he's the best looking ( I mean like, appropriate-looking) "Jesus portrayer" I think I've ever seen, anywhere! Last year was the first year he did it, and I was so glad he's doing it again this year. We do a series of events all week, and it seems so real, especially because, to me anyway, he looks like how I picture Jesus....the darker skin, the bright, beautiful and loving brown eyes, his enormous smile that spreads across his face with the beautiful white teeth....no, I don't have a thing for this guy at church, lol!! I mean, he's a nice guy, but the deal is, I have a thing for Jesus, and this guy just makes it seem like He's right there in the flesh....yeah, so I cry alot at our Holy week services!! It's a good cry!

p.s. My mom sewed Kiki's dress, because she really wanted a "pretty, poofy" Easter dress, and it's a hard thing to find in her size for any reasonable amount of money. So mom and I picked out a pattern, and for fabric we used....some old curtains I had in our last house!! I got the idea from the old movie "The Sound of Music". Then I added some ribbon and flowers at the waist band...we got sooo many compliments on that dress! Very fun.

I Actually had a Good Idea!

Sat, 17 Feb 2007 21:28:27 GMT

Here's some parenting advice.....

Ever since my daughter was old enough to sit up and turn pages, my M-i-l has subscribed to some magazines for her. Which is fun for Kiki. As she's gotten older, of course, the mags have changed. She recently started receiving two "tween type" magazines...and I decided I better read them. I'm pretty particular about the ideas that might be put in her head. The other day she got her first "American Girl" magazine...I am really happy with it. It's got lots of good ideas of stuff to do, and the type of advice on friendships, doing the right things, etc. that I actually try to give her...and it's good for her to hear it somewhere other than from me! So, I am totally fine with her reading it. The side benefit, which I never really expected, was that I am getting some insights into her mind...because of the stuff in there that other little girls say and do. Since she's my only child, sometimes I think some of the stuff she comes up with is, well, weird. Which makes me wonder, is my kid weird? Well, I've been reading a lot of stuff, and guess what? It would seem my daughter is...normal! Whew. Who knew?! So, the advice is, read kids' magazines and get some insight into your child's mind...it might set your mind - and heart - at ease. And maybe give you some topics for conversation, if you are struggling there.

My Baby Delivery Story...for Posterity Sake, I Guess!

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 02:40:06 GMT

http://www.qtpies7.blogspot.com/ Over at her site, she is hosting a 'contest' for birthing stories...well, I only have one story, but it's a good one, so I figured I'd join in.

If you're the type to get grossed out about 'baby stories' this would be a good time to just pass up this particular blog entry...

The birth of my only, my little Kiki ~ I was labeled "high risk" from the beginning, but only because of my age... I was going to be 36 years old when I delivered her (I was 36 by one week....she was born a week to the day after my birthday). I wasn't concerned; I actually thought it was a little silly. I didn't feel old. I do now, by the way! I threw up at least once a day, every day, for the entire 9 months. And every time I threw up, it was with such force that I broke blood vessels under my eyes (so I had these constant tiny red circles under my eyes) not to mention that each and every time, I wet my pants. Lovely. During delivery was no exception. But, let me start from the beginning.... My doctor kept changing my due date, and I never did know exactly why. All I know is, at one point she was supposed to be born on my birthday, and I thought this would be a total rip-off...you know as the mom, I would be the one who never got a special day again!! It'd be all about that baby! About the time my birthday came and went, the doctor decided I was overdue, and if I didn't have the baby by the following Friday, she was going to induce labor. I was totally freaked out about that, because I had heard all these stories about how induced labor was much worse than if it starts on it's own. I guess it's all about the power of the mind, because I went into labor that Thursday. Late in the afternoon, we went to the hospital. I had this bag full of stuff, mostly goodies, because my little sister had told me I would want to snack. Whatever. My poor hubby had to take me to every market in Western Washington because I just had to have Butter Toffee Peanuts. Had to. They were very hard to find, but we did! I don't think I ever ate any of them. I'd bought this beautiful white and blue robe, with tea cups on it, that the nurse took one look at and told me "honey, you don't want to wear that lovely thing...it'll just get messed up." Huh. At one point, before I had any IV's or anything, I had to go throw up...I remember being embarrassed because, of course, I peed on the bathroom floor when I did....it wasn't until days later that I realized the reason it was a major flood was because that was when my water broke! I didn't even know...duh. Later, as I lay on the delivery table, the nurse had to bring me a bucket...she said, "wow, I've never had anyone throw up at this point!" Lucky me, I guess. Then they gave me my IV...it took 6 pokes, and a puddle of blood on the floor from my hand. I had decided to try to go without any drugs, but I wasn't too proud to take something if it got wicked...well, wicked it got, so I asked for some Stadol...now, this had been described to me as just a very strong aspirin type deal. Which is completely ridiculous, and I should've slapped the birth instructor who told me that! Well, they gave me some, and I tell you it made me absolutely loopy!! I immediately fell asleep and began dreaming...as soon as a contraction hit, I'd wake up, then fall back asleep the second it ended. I remember at one point, I woke up, and saw the nurse talking to me...saw, not heard. I could see her mouth moving, but that was it...I looked over at Alan and asked "Is she talking to me??" Another time, I was dreaming of Thanksgiving dinner (even tho this was August!) and when a contraction woke me up, I asked Alan to "please pass me the butter." You should have seen the way the poor guy looked at me! Geez, what a strange trip! Eventually this wore off, and I was grateful...until the next stage of labor hit! I started begging for an epidural...the nurse tried to talk me out of it...she said if I just "hung in there" I'd be done in 20 minutes, but the epi might drag it out for hours. She may have been correct, but all I could think was that even 20 more seconds of this would kill me...Give me an Epi and give it to me now!! Well, they did, and that nurse was totally scowling at me. It did stop my labor, but who cared?? Now I felt soooo good, I didn't care how long I lay there! That nurse cared, tho, and let me know it. I was just glad it made me numb, because now my feet weren't freezing...at least, not so that I could tell! Eventually, the nurses told me I needed to push...but I was so numb, I had no idea if I was or not. I"d never done this before...I couldn't tell. I kept asking "Am I pushing? Am I doing it?" and they'd just sigh, and say no. I felt so upset that they seemed mad at me... I mean, they get paid for the shift, so what did it matter if I took 10 minutes or 10 hours?? It annoyed me. I started to cry. Finally, this super nice male nurse came in, and started to speak kindly to me...then he brought in this metal frame thingy, that sort of made a pull-up bar over the bed, and he tied a towel to it, and helped me to sort of pull myself up, and gravity kicked in and the lame pushing I was doing began to work. Thankfully, the Epi had worn off a bit; not so much that I had any pain, but enough that I did have some feeling... and I was so glad, because I had realized I might not even have felt my baby being born, and that would have totally sucked. So I did feel the birth, but no pain. I'm all for that! Now, my doctor was totally excited because we didn't know the sex of our baby, so she would get to yell "It's a ____!!" Did you ever realize what a bummer it is for doctors that they don't get to tell you anymore? So she yelled "It's a girl!" and I said "It's a ...WHAT?" Because I wanted a daughter so badly, and I'd had so many dreams that my baby was a boy...I couldn't believe it! What happened next, well, thankfully I didn't see it...my husband said it was 'messy as a pig slaughter'....but I had a beautiful, precious little girl, and I would do it all again! Well, actually, I never did...so, maybe I'm a wussie! Or maybe you just don't mess with perfection...I got my little girl!

Please Don't Tie the Dog to the Doorknob (how I learned to be more specific)

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 22:07:40 GMT

Our dog is a little schizo. I'm not sure why; maybe being stuck inside mama an extra day, brain damage due to lack of oxygen, ya know? At any rate, she can be totally fine one moment, then something frightens her and she just freaks out. You never know. Maybe it was because of times like this... We got her as a puppy when we lived in Salt Lake City. This was when Kiki was 3. A year or so later, Kiki got into this habit of putting the dog on her leash and dragging her around the house...Oh, I mean "taking her for a walk". Uh huh. Poor dog, but hey, it didn't really hurt her. Then Kiki decided it would be good to tie the dog up so she couldn't wander off... After we nearly lost a doorknob I told Kiki "you can NOT tie the dog to doorknobs! That's not what doorknobs are for!" Silly me, I forgot to just say "don't tie the dog up"... So, one day I was in the kitchen, Alan was...well, probably watching TV...and Kiki was "walking" the dog...it got quiet, and you moms know what I mean when I say I should've known something was up...all of a sudden, there is this crashing and howling and yelling and crying coming from the livingroom....Alan and I rushed out there, and here is the scene we came upon.... Kiki is sobbing, standing near the fireplace. The dog is across the room, trembling, and attached to the dog's leash is...the entire fireplace screen and one of the andirons....black soot and ashes are strewn across the pink persian rug... a huge gouge is in the hardwood floor where the metal has dug in, and the only reason the dog has stopped is because the fireplace screen is now hung up on the sofa so she can't go any further. The lesson I learned that day...when giving instructions to my child, I have to try to cover every possible angle, because if I only prohibit 'A' and 'B' you can be sure she will conjure up situation 'C'....sigh. I tell myself it is just the sign of a bright child, who can come up with all sorts of ideas....that makes me feel better than just thinking she can find all sorts of ways to get into trouble....!!

Sometimes it's embarrassing to be the mom

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 00:55:50 GMT

I feel like all my entries lately have been entirely too serious, so I thought I'd take a little break - give you a little break! Kiki has been on my last nerve lately, and I suppose it's because I've only one nerve left that it's been such a problem - so, I was trying to think back on funny little things she's done, and I suddenly recalled all the times she embarrassed me completely...you know, the times all you can do is stand there as your face burns red, knowing there are no words at all that can 'fix' the situation!

Too many movies ~ Kiki has always been a big dinosaur fan, so she loved all the "Land Before Time" movies. She was about 3, and we were walking (well, she was in the stroller) to our local Starbucks for my daily mocha. (I'm an addict, you know this!) Kiki watched her favorite movies over and over and over and.... she knew them by heart. In her then-current fave L-B-T movie, there is a part where one little dinosaur makes a disparaging remark about another's mama. So, we are strolling along, and she is happily quoting line after line from the movie, with perfect inflection. We are crossing the street, and just as a woman passes by us going the opposite direction, Kiki turns around, glares at me and says "Don't say that about my mother!!"

No, I swear, we are not prejudiced ~ Kiki was born and spent her first 3 years in the Seattle area. I was so happy that she was growing up in such a culturally diverse area, so she would see and know all kinds of people. (There is a distinct - uh, paleness to the area we live in now.) So I always figured she wouldn't notice the color of people's skin, or other differences, because it was all around us, all the time. I loved that. Back then we weren't as cheap as we are now, so we had cable, and we loved watching Animal Planet. One night, we saw the coolest show all about gorillas. It was very interesting, and really had Kiki's attention. Forward to a couple days later. We are in the market, and it's just about our turn with the checker. The checker - a nice lady who we'd seen many times before. The checker - a very dark black woman, with very short hair and a rather pug nose. Kiki looks at her, and her eyes grew wide, and she smiled in a bit of an amazed sort of way...do you know those moments, as a mom, when you know something terrible is about to happen and yet there is nothing you can do to stop the rushing train?? Yeah. She pointed at the checker, as as loud as she possibly could she announced "Look, Mama! She's just like a gorilla!"

Why you shouldn't keep nursing your baby until she is two ~ We have a history of food allergies and sensitivities in our family. My younger sister almost died in her mid-twenties because of this (well, amongst other stuff...) When that sister had her first baby, her pediatrician told her that the longer she nursed her baby, the less likely that the child would have those kinds of food problems. Later on, because Kiki had a very serious reaction to some sort of allergen that they suspected was tree-nuts, my pediatrician suggested the same thing. Through a serious of nick-names and mispronounced words, Kiki referred to the, uh, milk-giving glands as the "meem-meems". Kiki loved the meem-meems. One day, I am standing in line at Starbucks (yeah, yeah, I know!) and I am holding Kiki. She was about 18 months old I think. A nice older lady was standing just ahead of us, and began to speak to Kiki. You know, "Oh, aren't you a sweet little thing?" and "What's your name, honey?" Here is the reply... "My name is Kiki, and this is my mommy." Then, she swings around to face me, grabs my, well, you know, one in each hand, and says - again, clear and loud - "and these are her meem-meems!!"

Swimming lessons ~ Conquering the fears

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 06:10:03 GMT

My daughter has been afraid of water since the day she was born. I don't know what caused it. Children begin their existance floating in a bubble of water for 9 months...you would think being put back in it wouldn't be a problem. I wonder sometimes if the maternity nurses who bathed her on her first day of life did something wrong. You would assume they know what they are doing, but the moment they put her in the water, she screamed...and she didn't stop until it was all over. Both nurses - who had been in the maternity ward for several years each - said they had never had a baby scream so loud and so long over a bath. My mother came to stay with me for two weeks when I had my baby. (Yep, good ol' mom - definately there when you need her!) She'd had three children, and Kiki was her 6th grandchild. She's had a bit of experience in the baby-bathing area. She told me not to worry, that all babies love baths, and we'd have her cooing in no time. Ha. Each and every bath went the same - screaming, red-faced, stiff muscled, shaking. At the end of the two weeks, mom just shook her head and said "well, that's just...really strange." And on it continued. By the time Kiki was old enough to sit up, she decided it was okay to be in the water...as long as you didn't try to lay her back and wash her hair! That put her right back to the screaming and shaking. Thank the Lord, Kiki was bald until she was two, so I just let her sit in the tub, and afterwards I would wipe her head with a baby wipe. When her hair grew it became increasingly difficult. She was fine if she could just have a "play bath" as she called them...but if hair washing was involved, look out. I usually had to do it with Alan there as well, as it took both of us to pull it off. She absolutely hates having water in her ears or on her face. She mostly takes showers now, yet even at that, a towel has to be hanging right outside the curtain, and she wipes her face off anytime water drips are on it. If she doesn't have a towel, she'll panic. You'd think it was acid on her or something! Of course, all her cousins are now little fishes, and Kiki is the only one standing in the shallow end while they jump in, swim, go down the water slides, whatever. Last spring we put her thru two sessions of swim lessons. She didn't do very well. She tried, but it's hard to swim if you won't let water be on your face! For awhile now, Alan has been on me to get her in some more lessons. He really worries that she'll start facing embarassment for not being able to swim. I've known he's right, but it's hard, as the mom, to force your child to do something that you know scares the waddin' out of them. Well, I finally found a new instructor, and we decided to go with some private lessons... basically because most children at her level of ability are going to be 4 - 5 year olds, and again, we didn't want her to be embarassed. Today was her first lesson - she did so great!! The teacher said she had expected way less out of Kiki from what I'd told her - I had to tell her that I was every bit as surprised as she was! There was definately a bit of face-wiping going on, but the instructor gently told Kiki she just needed to ignore it and let it drip off, and for the most part, she did. By the end of the lesson, Kiki was swimming by herself across the deep end, going underwater in the deep end, and even jumped off the diving board! For my little girl, this is huge. There is still a little bit of trepidation, but I could tell she really wanted to do it, and this instructor was so great - she was Kiki's little cheerleader, and Kiki really liked her and felt comfortable with her, and I suppose that made a great difference as well. She has another lesson on Wednesday, and we may do next week as well. Then I may be able to put her in a class with other kids...I just want to let her keep working at it until I know she can go in a pool without me worrying that she'll panic. I mean, she thinks she is fine already now, but you know how it is at a community pool or water park, with the splashing and waves and all, and I want to be sure she is confident enough that even if she did get dunked or pushed or a gulp of water, that she'll just pop up and get right back to it. For the first time ever, I feel like that might be within her grasp. I am so excited for her!