Little Fish

It's official.  Brent and I have a couple of little fish on our hands.

Sunday Brent's dad Mark, his wife Brenda, and their son Trent (Uncle Trent, that is) flew into California for a visit.  It was great seeing them; the kids really had a lot of fun while they were here and especially seemed to enjoy getting to know their four year old uncle.  The Safranskis brought some wonderful gifts for the kids, including t-shirts from Brent's college, Iowa State, a dinosaur t-shirt for Ashagre that matched one Trent had, a pretty dress for Elsa (picked out by Trent), and harmonicas.  By far though, the best present of all was a set of water wings for each kid and an opportunity to learn to swim at the Marriott pool.

We signed the kids up for swim lessons a few weeks ago, but couldn't get them in until the end of June.  We have been mentally preparing them by talking about swimming and looking at pictures of people swimming on the computer.  They have been pretty excited to give it a shot for a while now and jumped at the opportunity.  Quite a change from the two kiddos that refused, complete with hysterical crying, to come within 25 feet of the Hilton pool in Addis Ababa in February.  Ashagre did mention that he felt a little scared as we drove toward the motel, but he sure didn't let it hold him back once he got there.

Here's a few pictures from our first day at the pool.  We spent more time there this evening before dinner.    Unfortunately, we only have pictures of the first few minutes after we arrived at the pool and then a couple hours later after we got out.  The rest of the time both Brent and I were in the pool with the kids and couldn't take pictures.  All I can say is that in a few short hours they went from excitedly timid about getting in the water to happily moving through the water hanging on to Mommy or Daddy to swimming independently to eagerly jumping into the pool and fully submerging.  Both kids love holding their breath and putting their faces in the water.  They have the beginnings of a doggie-paddle down, can float on their backs and generally LOVE to swim.  I have a feeling they would swim all day given the opportunity.

Testing the water.

Feels pretty good.

Cautiously getting in.

I so wish I had some pictures from the next few hours in the pool.  I think Grandpa Safranski probably has some; maybe we can get him to send us some after they return to Iowa.  One of the most amazing and inspiring aspects of parenting older internationally adopted children is watching them take on so many new experiences and challenges.  You literally get to watch major growth unfold right before your eyes.  We witnessed Elsa and Ashagre facing their fears of a totally new experience and tackling them head on.  Any fear they had of the pool or swimming was definitely left lifeless at the bottom of the deep end by the time we finally ordered them out to warm up.  The comfort they gained in the water in such a short time had Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, and Grandpa alike grinning from ear to ear with awe and pride.

Relaxing poolside in the sun after a long day's swimming.

Sharing a moment with Uncle Trent.

Looks like we'll be visiting the swim center way before swim lessons start at the end of June.