(In anticipation of) The Summer of the Flamingo

There are a lot of things to love about Texas. Normally, I would say that the heat is not one of them, but when you can break out the swimming pool in April, I count the heat as a plus. It was over 90 degrees when I picked Sydney up from the sitter's today and my very first thought was, "Let's go get a pool."

I'm calling this summer the "Summer of the Flamingo" in honor of our latest yard decorations, and wouldn't you know it, Carter's makes a flamingo swim suit (you can see the flamingo on the bottom of the shirt in the last picture). You know this makes me very happy. Gymboree also had a flamingo line. I know because I found a "worn once and then outgrown" shirt and skirt outfit from said flamingo line at an consignment sale. You know that makes me even happier.

Sydney loved getting her pool out. She was tentative at first because the water was pretty cold, even though the air was hot. After slowly acclimating though, she went into water baby mode and splashed around, jumped, did prat falls, and ended the afternoon with a game where I barely touched her and she would fall into the water laughing hysterically.

But really, the other reason I was anxious to get the pool out, is that I was looking over old blog posts and found this one. I'll go ahead and re-post the pictures from it, just for the comparison. But basically, the start of summer is always right around May 2, Sydney's half birthday, and I use the first pool picture of the season as a half birthday comparison.

I look at her now and I think that she hasn't really changed that much in the last year, and then I see pictures of that quiet little toddler, and I realize that she has grown so much. I also think about her sibling, and how much difference six months makes. Sydney's first summer, she was sitting up in a baby pool. Her sibling should arrive sometime next month and probably won't get to swim at all this summer. So, for her sibling, that introduction to water will have to wait until around the first birthday. By then, that little baby pool Sydney used may well be too small and boring for a crawling, or even walking toddler. On the other hand, Sydney was nursing at her first Thanksgiving, and her sibling will be on select baby foods by then and will probably be able to eat sweet potatoes at the table. As much as Sydney experienced in her first year, it will all be completely different for her sibling, and not just because they will be different kids, but because the timing is all new. I'm grateful for that.

For now, though, we are getting a jump start on the Summer of the Flamingo because goodness knows that there will be at least a part of the summer (and I'm hoping it's a small part) that taking this girl outside to swim will have to go on the back burner and I want her to enjoy all the fun summer activities from previous years and add even more fun things this summer. So, here we are, April 21st, with the start of summer 2009.

2007

2008

2009 -- The Summer of the Flamingo