Little Fish: Last Swim Class of the Summer

I was fortunate enough to use my lunch break last Tuesday to drive to Emler Swimming Academy for Human Children (or whatever it's called) and join you and your Mom for your last swim class.



Of course, I was wearing a button-down and khakis, so I couldn't join you in the pool. I wish I was wearing a swim suit though, it was hot in there and the water looked so refreshing...except for the abundance of children who probably peed in their swim diapers.



But, pee wasn't the most exciting thing in the water. You were! Of course I've seen what you can do in our inflatable pool and in Gulf and in friends' pools over the summer, but I've never witnessed the barage of swimmin' challnges and learning they throw at you (or throw you in to) in a swim class.



You were great! Obstacles that used to bother you and make you cry only made you happy! A child screaming bloody murder didn't make you lose your swimming cool at all. You went down the slide (with glee) and did humpty dumpty (with slight resistance) and held your breath for 8 seconds (a class record!!!).



You still did not seem to like floating on your back. In fact, you hated it. I did not take video of that.



But, all in all, swim class was a success, and a fun experience for you and your Mommy. I'm so glad I got to be a tiny part of it and be the creepy guy in khakis and a button-down filming a swimming pool full of children with his phone!

Super Smell & The Quest for a Lullabye

Something stinks. And, according to your Mom's renewed super sense of smell, it's still me! After not hearing much about smells for quite some time (probably due to the cold and sinuses blocking that sniffer's super sensibilities), we are now currently experiencing a resurgence in your Mother's acute sense of smell!

The other day I went in for a smooch and Holly notified me that I "smell weird."

"What did you eat?" She asked.

"A slice of pizza and tuna fish." I replied.

"Yup! That's it! That's what it stinks like!"

Okay, admittedly, that snack wasn't my finest culinary hour, and tuna pizza breath would probably offend a regularly-powered nose.

But then yesterday, we were talking after we both got home from work and I was notified again that my breath stank once again. I did have a sandwich for lunch, but no tuna and pizza to speak of.

"You've been eating cloves of garlic again?" she asked.


First of all, I only did that like twice, and secondly, I hadn't done it that day!


But her nose was so sensitive that I was instructed to speak out of the corners of my mouth...like the Ninja Turtles.

Now HIS breath would certainly reek of Pizza and small acquatic organisms.

So, it's entirely possible that I suffer from halitosis. But I seriously doubt it. My mouth is so clean you could eat off of it! I think what we're really dealing with here is pregnancy Super Powers rearing their ugly heads again. First victim: anyone that might not smell like roses 24 hours a day. Namely, me and my breath.

Hopefully side-of-mouth-Ninja-Turtle talking will put that issue to bed.

Speaking of putting things to bed (how was that for a segue?), I started thinking yesterday about what Lullabyes we want to sing to you.

We could sing the Ben Folds Lullabye we heard at his concert (which you seemed to react well to, since you did kick your mother a lot during that concert).




And then, there are tons of Beatles candidates too, including Blackbird (which my old College roommate taught me to play on Guitar), I'm So Tired, Let it Be and Golden Slumbers.



And also a strong candidate is "All the Pretty Little Ponies" which- with a little bit of Hebrew added in- is pretty much the Lullabye Mimi and Pops sang me and Aunt Rebekka when we were growing up.

Ignore the "My Little Ponies" in this video. They are frightening doe-eyed monsters.

I also am quite fond of Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence," though I don't think it's a lullabye.

But, in an effort to sing that tune to you last night, I came across a very serious, chronic, hereditary illness from which I suffer: Lyric-itis. I inherited it from Mimi (who famously sang the song "You make me so very happy" as "Me so Me so very happy")

In "Away We Go" (that movie we were watching when I felt you kick) this pregnant lady sings a pretty cool lullabye to her niece: Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man." SHE KNEW EVERY WORD TO THE SONG off the top of her head! I couldn't even get through one verse of "Sound of Silence" before I started make words up. I couldn't even do "Let it Be" without the song playing along with me! Singing you a Lullabye is gonna be pretty tricky if I dont' know any words to any songs.

So I started compiling a list of songs whose lyrics I do know:

• Boehmian Rhapsody
• Row, Row Your Boat
• Some of "Rapper's Delight"
• Quite a bit of Weird Al's "Yoda"
• Werewolf Bar Mitzvah

Yeah, these will all make terrible Lullabyes. I've got to start memorizing some lyrics!

In any case though, please be sure that after we tuck you in and turn on your nightlight (which your Mom made herself! Check it out below) and BEFORE we start singing you a Lullabye, I will brush my teeth, rinse with Scope and eat a mint- just in case you get your Momma's nose.

Coolest Night Light Ever! Made for you by your Mother! Sleep tight, little guy!