Swimming, Round Two.

Daddy's turn to write again.  Today Courtney hosted a "Mommy and Mommy-To-Be Meet and Greet" at our house.  Babbie came down for the day to help Courtney prepare a grand spread.  Twenty ladies shared war stories and fellowship over iced tea, lemonade and ham rolls.  As Courtney was tied-up performing her hosting duties, I had "Elliott Duty" for a period of three hours.   

First, Elliott and I took a stroll in the 95 degree heat.  Elliott fussed for a while, before falling asleep somewhere near Fork In the Alley and 7-11.  Too bad we missed free Slurpee (TM) day (7/11) by twelve hours.  As hot as it was today, I really could have used a free 7.11 ounce Slurpee. 

At the end of our stroll, we stopped by Whit and Lauren's place.  For those of you who don't know Whit and Lauren, they are our good friends (and neighbors) who are Elliott's God-Parents to be.   What do they say about having a pool... the only thing better than having a pool is having a friend who has a pool... well I concur with that adage.   Shortly after we moved to Jefferson St., Whit and Lauren bought a house (with a pool) a block away from ours.  We have been blessed with some fantastic friends here in Roanoke, but having Whit and Lauren so close has been particularly sweet.  They are two of the most kind hearted people on the planet, and I want my daughter to grow up with Lauren as a role model 

During our visit, Whit, Lauren and I enjoyed a few beers by the pool (don't worry, at three months Elliott prefers milk). Wearing a beautiful blue and white swimsuit, a floppy bucket cap, and slathered in SPF 50 sunblock, Elliott took on the pool for a second time in her life.  We slowly waded into the shallow end and dipped her feet into the cool water.  She reacted predictably, wailing at the top of her lungs.  Once she calmed down, I tried again, this time until the water was up to her waist. Elliott stopped fussing momentarily, got silent for about three seconds, and then screamed like I have never heard before.  As we have discovered, Elliott has a number of different cries.  This brand of crying included tears streaming down her cheeks, it was the real deal. 

I held her close and moved toward the corner of the pool.  She stopped crying as we sat at the top of the steps. We both dangled our feet in the water until Elliott got comfortable with the temperature.  At that point, the crying stopped and she relaxed enough to enjoy a few moments in the water.  I wrapped her in a towel, gave her a bottle and she slept on Daddy while the rest of us enjoyed a beautiful (but hot) day by the pool. 

As Courtney has noted, we are blessed with a very well behaved baby. She is quite a trooper.   I have been on the road a lot lately and needed a day to catch-up with my girl.   As we left the pool, I couldn't help but hope that Elliott qualifies for the 400m individual medley in the 2028 summer olympics, so that I can recount today's adventure in a sentimental background story prior to her race.