Dear Addi,

Dear Addi,

I REALLY did not want to go swimming last night. But I promised you, if you finished your dinner that we would go swimming.

I didn't think you'd finish it because you never do, but you must have REALLY wanted to go swimming because you ate the rest of the turkey from your turkey burger and you were ready to go.

So we got ready. And you insisted on wearing your high-heeled, jelly, light-up Cinderella shoes.

We walked across the ditch to the swimming pool and got in the not-so-hot, not-so-cold water.

Every time we swim you pretend you are a hippo ballerina, and you tell me that I'm an alligator (like from Disney's Fantasia). Then we dance like ballerinas and I chase you like a mean alligator.

The past few times we've gone swimming you try getting your face wet. You've been very brave. But yesterday you went all of the way under the water. More than once. You went so far under there was water over the top of your head! I was so impressed! You just did it, I didn't even tell you to. You're awesome!

You love to play with kids at the pool, but yesterday all of the kids were already playing with other kids. And on top of that they either spoke Spanish or Chinese. You still don't understand what different languages are, and to you it just sounds like jibberish, so you started ba-ba-dee-dee-do-ing to the kids in hopes that they'd play with you. Of course they had no idea what you were saying.

There was a little boy at the pool who was collecting dead bugs from the pool and lining them up on the edge of the pool so that they would come back alive. Of course, the bugs were dead and wouldn't ever come back alive, but he was holding out hope. He told me to tell you not to touch them. I wasn't too worried about that, as there can't even be a piece of fuzz floating in your bath water without you yelling "bug!"

When we left, you put back on your high-heeled, jelly, light-up, Cinderella shoes and headed home. You weren't watching where you were going, mis-stepped and fell in the pool. Luckily it was by the stairs so you just got back out and I put your shoe back on.

Then we went down some stairs. You must have thought we had reached the bottom because you completely missed the last step and ended up on your knees on the ground. Good thing you had your big turtle floaty around you to soften the fall! You just got up and kept on walking.

Then we had to walk through the ditch again. Your shoe got stuck in the sand and fell off... like Cinderella losing her glass slipper, except your foot was now filthy and you had to balance while I put your shoe back on.

When we got home you told grandma that you "lost your balance". She asked you where it was and you said "at the swimming pool."