Elle's first trip to the pool

Today we all got up early and hit the pool before the summer crowd. We've got two pools in our condo complex, but one is closer and little less crowded, so we headed to that one after Elle's breakfast. The sky was overcast, and we've had scattered showers and storms today, but while we were at the pool the sun eventually came out.

We put Elle in her swim diaper and bathing suit, and we were off. Elle was a bit puzzled but seemed thrilled that Mommy AND Daddy were with her. When we got the pool, Tim took her in while I played paparazzi.

Elle LOVED it. The water in Florida, be it in pools or the gulf, is bath-water warm right now (seriously, the water temperature in Clearwater, not from from us, is in the upper 80-degree range). She basically thought she was in a big bath tub, which means she'll likely have no interest going back to her infant/toddler tub any time soon :)

Tim let her splash in the water a bit, let her sit on a little ledge on the edge of the pool, swam around with her and then I sat on the edge and dunked her up and down while he swam toward her. She thought that was the funniest thing EVER. It was adorable to hear her laugh so hard and see her play in the water - it makes me super excited to take her to the beach and play in the gulf (not so excited about the prospect of finding sand in Elle's toes for the next three months, but such is life).

It reminded me of this time last year, when I would spend time in that same pool just to get some relief from the wonder that was being-8-and-9-months-pregnant-in-Florida-in-June-and-July. It was such a relief to be in that pool - not so much because of the refreshing cool water, obviously, but more because the water took all of the pressure off my body and gave me a little bit of exercise without wearing me out for the day. I remember thinking how weird it was to swim with a baby who was essentially in a constant swimming pool of amniotic fluid. But it was definitely fun to take out-of-utero Elle to the pool and see her play and enjoy it.

At one point, Elle decided she didn't want to sit on the cement ledge - she wanted to be back in Daddy's arms. She reached for him, and even though his hands were *rightthere,* her face dipped in to the water for a second and she came up shocked. She recovered quickly and seemed to want more, more, more.  Little fearless water baby!

We'll head back to the pool for longer excursions, but I'm just happy that the first trip went so well. Bonus: Elle's morning nap lasted for two hours after our pool adventure.

Heading in.

"Mommy, this is a cool bath tub."

<3

Someone got wet!

This baby is slightly happy.