amalea the kindergartener

mom and dad's first child, who was just born a couple of days ago by the way, started kindergarten a week ago. here she is on the first day of her school career. amalea, you have a super-sized backpack to fill, so get learning!

warr in texas

happy times abounded in texas. the three girls were there from august 1st through the 18th.

the cousins on a trek on the family ranch property. isabel is in true adventure walk attire: pantie cover, thigh length socks, and flip-flops. we were often graced by visits from the deer in the early hours of the day. the sweetest was the occasion when we watched a doe suckling her two fawns. and then the whole family lovingly licked one another clean in unison.

padre island national seashore. amalea and a sand dollar.

isabel holding a hermit crab.

sand-angel.

posing on the sand dunes.

picnicking with the peacocks at mayfield park. see the peachicks with their mother just beyond isabel?

the 750,000 bats under congress bridge. their emergence at dusk was utterly amazing. the squeaking. the smell of guano.

peter pan mini-golf.

barton springs pool.

amalea made an algae alligator. she did not mind the slime. isabel was completely disgusted by the "fuzzies" and "hairballs".

sitting atop carved wood stools after a day at the pool. after this we got to see a barton springs salamander.

inner space cavern. isabel (not-pictured) decided to throw herself into cave mud during a decidedly cave-induced tantrum.

look at how adoringly babcia and dziadek gaze at their great-granddaughters.

tuesday, july 28, 2009 beginning at 4 pm

operation potty training isabel had been officially aborted on july 27. lack of success should have been predicted after she made the comment, while sitting on the toilet, "i pushed on my head" and proceeded to do so. was isabel fully understanding what we meant when she was told to push the pee-pee out?

then a recommendation came to try the book "toilet training in less than a day" by nathan azrin (see post title for exact inception of program). 24 hours later, isabel was toilet trained. here is the proud diaper graduate showing off her WAY big girl panties (the kind without the absorbent padding).

heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's august so back to july we go

during the last three weeks of july amalea and isabel + mom (parent tot class) had swim lessons. the weather was not so summery with pool temperatures warmer than air.

amalea with her "fishing goggles" as isabel puts it. tiny, can't touch the bottom of the pool, amalea did not pass the class with flying colors. she proved everyone wrong, though, while playing in the pools in texas during our august vacation. underwater flips were performed with grace thanks to a magical nose plug. aunt tracy even taught amalea how to float on her front and back like a starfish with air in its tummy. amalea even doggie paddled several feed unassisted. watch out for this little fish during lessons next year!

the parent tot class. the only reason why mom is in the photo. our next child will be accompanied by jason. isabel is a daredevil. she jumped off the side of the pool on her own and wanted to go underwater. even more amazing skills were shown in texan water. isabel floated around in a donut floatie and would submerge her face. she jumped off the side of the pool demanding to go underwater and ensuring that mom stood way back to allow for this. of course she wore the fishing goggles and loved turning her head about underwater to see everyone.

the sisters calling swim lessons for the season a wrap.