My Water Baby

Today I cried my first tears of pride for my daughter. I have been taking her to a water babies class for the last two or three weeks and today she floated on her back without any help for nearly a minute. It was amazing to see. The speed of the progress has been mind blowing. Last week she floated alone for just a few seconds and today she looked like she could stay there for ever but the teacher got hld of her because she didn't want her to get too tired. She's only tne months old for God's sake. I can't even float!!

Its a hard going class because the teacher ducks her right under water and when she fights to get to the top, after a few seconds, the teacher spins her over on herself and under the water again ...to make her keep learning the instinct to come to the top and float no mater what happens. You have to see it to belive it. In such a short time she is floating. I think by the time she is about 2 she will be diving in!

She is presently sleeping it off in her cot. It really tires them out. All the mum's say that their kids sleep for ages after. Another bonus of taking them! Joking apart though, I take her because my parent's in law have an uncovered outdoor pool and it frightens me to think what could happen if for a second someone takes their eyes off her. When I am there then I will be watching her all the time but I am going to be scared to go inside or leave her there alone if she can't swim.

I have been looking into schools here in Valencia. Yes, already. Generally I am appalled at how bad the system is re enquiring about schools. Basically, there isn't a system. I ahve been over to a few of the private schools in walking distance and they have no open day, no prospectus, no nothing. Apparently I am just supposed to know which school I want Olivia to go to without being allowed to go inside and have a look! Mental. I suppose, like everything else in Spain, it works via word of mouth. However, when you are English and Catalan and living in Valencia then you don't have many words coming to you from local mouths. Hmm.

Thankfully our prefered school (only because it is the brother school of where Jose went - The brothers of La Salle) has a website which includes lots of photos.......and they show exactly the sort of things I want to see. Not much grass but then this is Valencia and not Yorkshire and that is something I just have to accept. I've got their phone number and I shall ring them later and see what I can get out of them re fees, school buses, places left etc. Its a drive out of the city so a school bus is something I am hoping for. As you'll know from previous blogs, we already have the classic school run luxury 4x4, but I don't actually want to put it to that use. If I have got another baby at home then I am not planning on getting up and driving across the city. Of course, I will do it if it is either that or send Olivia to one of the more centrally based good schools where they don't even have one tree, not one!! (can you imagine how horrible - I grew up surrounded by grass and trees and its the way to be if you ask me).

I am starting to teach English to the sister of a friend this afternoon. Hopefully Olivia will let me as she will obviously be crawling around the place as the class takes place. Fingers crossed.

S xx

Freedom!

Hola blogers,

Hope you have all had a good summer. Its still summer in my head as its still 30 odd degrees here in Valencia, although technically, it being September, I know summer has kind of ended. We had a great time introducing Olivia to the sea and the swimming pool. My God does she love water. She crawls along the beach straight into the sea and when a wave comes she laughs her head off. Obvious danger obviously not apparent to her. People were stopping their sea shore walks to come and stare and laugh at her (which happens a lot actually as she is forever doing daft stuff and laughing her head of).

At the swimming pool she managed to manipulate a seven year old boy into draggin her round in her ring all day. The poor boy was getting tired but she had him round her little finger. Her communication, without words, is very effective. She is actually forming words now. I'm really pleased about that as we were expecting her to be late with speech due to being trilingual. However, I have got her to say,"book", "peg", "clap" and "splash" and she says "mama" "dad" and "yes" pretty perfectly and at the appropriate moments. The other words were obvious attempts but I'm by no way claiming that she will hve remembered and will say them again at the right time. You never know though, I'm convinced she has called "peg" a few times upon seeing one.

I have called this blog "freedom" because Olivia has a new founf freedom and I am longing for some! Olivia now crawls and so its irrelevant to her where I put her, she goes where she wants. At the famr this weekend she must have covered a fair old distance. She was chasing cats. The cats were fully aware of her desire to achieve contact with them and they teased her, as only cats would and could, by letting her nearly touch and then jogging off again. She nearly had one of them at one point but her excitement ruined it for her. A cat was sunning itself and had forgotten about her for a second. It rolled on to its back and put its legs in the air. Perfect distance and position for Olivia to ahve touched it at that moment, but Olivia, upon realising her luck, squealed with delight and the cat jumped up in the air with fright and shot off.

My need for freedom may be met this week, and each week from now on, all being well. I have joined at a spa/gym/salon / general ponce around gorgeous place ......which has a creche!!!!! I am not so interested in the keep fit bit, I'm as fit as a bloody fiddle due to Olivia and her antics. I am more interested in letting Olivia play in the creche for an hour while I just sit and close my eyes in the turkish bath! Sounds like a plan, no?! Its frightfully expensive ......buy what price can you put on sanity? I love Olivia and love being with her every day.....and won't put her in a nursery because I don't agree with nurseries for children so young .....however, her desire to be walked around the house for hours on end is breaking my back. She moves her little legs really well and loves walking - but obvioulsy can't do it yet - so I have to bend over double and hold her under her armpits. Its agony. If I try to coak her into sitting down then she screams blue murder. She is so head strong! Hmm, wonder where that comes from. She is a real handful now as she insits on doing what she wants to do. Obviously I don't let her get her own way all the time but she is only 9 months old so a no involves lots of screaming. She is not easily tricked like some other babies are. Oh well, I'm hoping its intelligence rather than innate naughtiness. Although some say the two come hand in hand.

The other tow girls on the photo are my nieces by the way. My sister's children.

S xx