Lets go canoeing!

We’ve spent a good bit of time this summer “getting ready for the boat.” No, not another code phrase for “moving to a different city.” We are actually getting the girls ready to ride in a boat, or more precisely, a canoe. The mister and I really got into the paddle sports when we moved to LA; we even bought a nice canoe that was stolen about 2 months after we bought it (but that’s a story for another day). It is awesome to be alone with just the water and the boat – awesome! However, it has been about 3 years since we’ve gotten to go out and paddle because of the girls. My OB told initially told me it would be safe for a pregnant woman to go canoeing as long as she didn’t drown. But this was before we knew were having twins. Before BG2 lodged herself so tightly against my lungs that it was difficult for me to breath (we actually saw her stick her leg under my rib cage during one sonogram). Before it was too uncomfortable to do anything but “lie around like a lazy dog.” Before we had a baby on supplemental oxygen. Before.... But I digress. Now that BG1 and BG2 are 2 years old, they are almost old enough to join us on our aquatic adventures, our canoe therapy. But before we can take them in out in a canoe, we have to get them used to being in water. To do this, we’ve been doing a lot of swimming in the pool at our apartment complex. We started out slowly – 5 to 10 minutes at a time, 2-3 times a week and gradually increased out stays at the pool to 30-45 minutes. At first they were scared and clung to our necks with everything they had – arms, legs, finger nails, and in one case, teeth. But now they are our little turtle and duck (which just happen to be the animals on their swimming suits). They happily swim around the pool in their little blue floaties and even excitedly jump into the water from the side. Now as soon as we can convince them to stay seated in a moving vehicle, the will really be ready for the boat.