Independent Annies

Both of the girls are very independent. Lily is fiercely independent and Rosie is independent when she is around people she knows and trusts, otherwise she is a complete wimp and is afraid of her own shadow but more about that another time.
We spent a fabulous day yesterday with Hollis and the girls. From the minute we arrived they all played harmoniously. Since we haven't seen each other for 6 weeks the kids were in heaven as were the adults. When we first came home with Rosie and had served our six weeks of self inflicted house arrest to get her used to being part of our nutty household one of the first homes we visited was Hollis' so she is really comfortable there and runs about as if she owns it which pleases Hollis tremendously.
Once the thunderstorms left we headed into the pool and the kids had a hayday. Rosie is starting to get quite brave in the water and we had all good intentions of getting her into swimming lessons this summer but (a) summer hasn't gone quite as we had planned it and (b) Rosie still freaks out around strangers so we have decided that it probably won't benefit her to give her swimming lessons with a stranger at this point and will have the adverse effect on her and she will end up hating water which is something that we don't want as we spend alot of time in the wet stuff. A couple of weeks ago she decided she liked tubes and would put herself in a tube and kick like mad to get around the pool. I trail her and she loves it. It gives her freedom and I can still do stuff with Lily. Yesterday we took some tubes up to Hollis' with us and the big girls played with them and the noodles and a myriad of other toys and Rosie clung to her tube and swam, as she calls it, all around. She also likes to jump in so she did alot of that too. In fact she tried hard to do what the big kids were doing but just her version of it. Just as we were getting ready to call it a day and go inside for ice cream Rosie said she wanted to swim under water. For the most part she hates to get her face wet. On occasion I shove her face under and push her really fast to the side and tell her to kick. She does it but reluctantly. (yes, I am harsh but the kid has to learn to swim. Lily could swim, properly at 18 months, this is Fl there is water everywhere) I called for Jacob and he sat on the steps and I gave Rosie a shove and she swam underwater to her Daddy. He pulled her up and she was all smiles and asked to do it again so he shoved her back to me and so it went again and again and again! She was swimming. Not well but she was doing it and she was loving it. She needs to kick a bit more but she has the concept so I think if we go into the pool everyday this week she will be swimming by the end of it. She just really wants to be able to do what the big kids are doing.

Joie came up to me yesterday afternoon and asked when Lily could sleepover again so Hollis said she could sleepover that evening. I realised that Lily didn't have her Bunny so I said, soon, she could sleepover again soon. Lily pleaded so I asked to talk to her in private and explained the situation. For a minute she looked panic stricken and then she pushed her shoulders back in a way that would have made my father proud and said, I can do it. I told Hollis that if it was fine with her it was fine with us and independent child number 2 took off playing without looking back.
When it was time to leave I barely got a kiss goodbye but she did ask that I send up her Daddy so could say good bye to him before he left. She loves to play with Joie, Anlie and Trevi and the idea of sleeping there is just the cats pajamas.
When we left, Rosie was so worried because she thought we had forgotten Lily and it took us quite some time to calm her fears and make her understand that everything was fine.
I am glad they are willing to try new things. Rosie has been so scared for so long and to see her break free from her chains is wonderful. Lily has always been outgoing but she used to say she would never sleep anywhere if we were not there but now she cannot wait to sleep with her friends, at least not these friends.