Longmont Rec Center

Spencer overslept this morning, so we didn't make it to the free Stroller Strides class.  Once we got ourselves together, we went to the Rec Center pool.  Spencer loves this place, and since it snowed last night and was cold and drizzly and unpleasant outside this morning, it was perfect for today.  If there are swim lessons happening, the water features are turned off, but there is still plenty to do.  Today, there were no swim lessons.  They have a toddler waterslide that is shaped like a tree trunk, a zero-depth entry, tons of fountains (both on the floor and coming from pipes up above), wheels to operate the fountains, fountains operated by pull-rope, a lazy river, and two adult-sized waterslides.  There are benches and deck chairs around the pool that you can put your stuff on.  Of course there is also the sauna, steam room, and hot tub, but unless I put Spencer in child care, I don't indulge in those.  (Childcare is only $2 an hour, and seems worth it to me.  They can get kind of crowded sometimes, and ALWAYS have cartoons on the tv, but it is cheap and I feel like they really are watching the kids well.)  They also allow you to have inflatables in the pool.  Today we brought the inflatable basketball hoop with a small beach ball, and a few other toys.  Spencer had a wonderful time.  He takes swim classes here, and has since he was tiny, so he has no fear with the water.  We practiced jumping in from the side of the pool, climbing out of the water by himself, floating on his back, kicking his feet, etc.  He's doing pretty well, I think, and seemed to have a lot of fun.

When we got home, he ate his new favorite thing - buffalo meatloaf, leftover from last night.  He's not a picky eater, but it is still nice to see him dive in and really enjoy something.  At naptime, he climbed into bed without nursing, which makes me think we are starting the weaning process.  I feel sad about that and also a little relieved.  It's an odd combination of feelings.

I am reorganizing our bedroom, so we swung by Target for supplies after his nap, and when we got home, we played with his wooden beads.  When he got tired of stringing them, we started stacking them, and I found myself in awe of him once again.  He is my first, so I really don't know when kids things, but it seems like he has new accomplishments every day.  He's articulate and sweet-natured, and even though he is going through a willful (and frustrating) stage right now, he still says "yes please," "no thank you" and "bless you."  He can count to nineteen, more or less.  (One, two, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fiveteen, nineteen.)  He knows some of his colors (red, blue, green, orange, white, black, green) and some of his shapes (heart, star, diamond, triangle, arch, circle, square, and of course "stop sign").  He knows that red means stop and green means go.  He can recognize B and I by sight, and sings his alphabet all day from H-Z.  (I don't know why he doesn't like A-G yet, but he doesn't.)  He knows several songs, and loves singing them.  (The farmer in the dell, itsy bitsy spider, Old Macdonald, and twinkle twinkle little star.)  He can tell you about his day, with the events occurring in the correct order.  He is still cuddly and affectionate.  He can do the chunky-sized puzzles in any arrangement - even when the board is upside-down and all the pieces are presented to him upside-down and backwards and already out of the puzzle board.  He can string beads, knows his animals, and can make all the animal noises.  He can ride a balance bike, roller skate, hit a baseball, play catch, kick a soccer ball while standing on one leg, and jump with both feet in the air.  It is a miracle that kids learn all of this by the time they are two!  I know they all do it; there is nothing super-special about my kid versus anyone else's.  It's just such a pleasure to see him grow and develop.  I'm so glad that he's mine.

Tonight, he learned to use chopsticks at dinner, and used them to eat his broccoli.