Today was Gunnar's very first swimming class.
I'd been really looking forward to it up until about 2 weeks ago when Gunn decided that he no longer liked baths.
In fact it's not that he doesn't like baths, he HATES them and screams and holds onto your shirt like a clawless cat with his hands and his toes trying to wriggle his way out of getting in the tub whenever the word 'bath' is mentioned. I'm not quite sure how this phobia developed. We totally stopped water boarding him at 6 months so, who knows, right?
Showers, on the other hand, he loves. Almost every morning either Chris or I will be washing our face in the shower only to feel a small hand on the back of our leg while a little voice says, "hi!" The first couple times it happened I almost slipped and fell on top of him (just imagine the 911 call for that). Now it's just a struggle trying to keep him out of it whenever one of us is in it. Home Depot doesn't sell locks for shower doors. Also, Gunnar prefers to shower fully clothed.
Anyway, I was afraid swimming lessons would be at best a total screaming fest and at worst a complete waste of money. Chris came along with us as our FHE activity for the week and to document the event.
Things started off a little rocky...
The pool, which was supposed to be 85 degrees was somewhere around 75 degrees and no toy could make that one better.
But after a few minutes, things got better...
Arnold, the swimming instructor, was very impressed with Gunnar's kicking and splashing abilities.
Blowing bubbles proved to be a little more confusing though. He sucked in a face full the first time he tried it. But after that he picked it up pretty quickly.
Which is good because we've already signed him up for a toddler water polo team in the spring.
And of course, by the time class was over, Gunnar did not want to leave. Mostly because he was totally freezing and it happened to be slightly warmer inside the pool instead of out of it. The poor kid was totally shivering!
I think the blue in his lips and finger tips really brought out his eyes though...
Anyway, until next Monday. So far so good!
Last week, Chris, Gunnar and I all went to the Bronx Zoo. It was actually a first for all of us. I've taken Gunn to the Central Park Zoo a couple of times but this was his first real zoo. It was a lot of fun and a lot cheaper than we thought it was going to be (only $2.00).
They asked if we wanted to make a donation and I thought that was in addition to 2 full price tickets. I was like, "sure - we'll give a couple dollars," thinking I was being all generous and altruistic and such. Then I got the receipt and felt like a total schmuck. Chris thought it was hilarious and made a point to tell everyone how cheap I was that day. 
We walked through the main part of the zoo for awhile but the children's zoo ended up being the most fun for all of us.
Gunnar was absolutely captivated by this little wallaby (a.k.a. baby kangaroo - the zoo rangers seemed to get really annoyed at having to correct all the children who thought they were kangaroos).
First Gunn tried to climb the fence. Then he tried feeding the wallaby some dead leaves he found on the ground. He ended up giving them to me for safe keeping when he realized the bait wasn't working. 
Here's Gunnar's first tete-a-tete with a fish. He's still figuring out how glass works, I think.
After having him pose for this pic we decided not to get him wet or feed him after midnight anymore.
Gunnar was really hesitant about touching that snake and the glass was so clear it almost looked like it was going to strike out at us. So, I pushed his little hand toward it to show him it was safe. On second thought . . . maybe not the best 'mommy' thing to do.
He was even more freaked out over the alligators though. I guess it's one of those instinctual things. 
It didn't take too much prodding from us to get him to warm up to the gators though. Our boy is definitely a lover, not a fighter. And he's not especially discriminate about who or what he shows love to these days. We were in a lobby and he kissed a strange man on the mouth a few weeks ago and yesterday I found him kissing the door. I don't know.
The petting zoo was really fun. Gunnar wasn't as aggressive with the goats this time though. He's starting to learn consequences and that if you stick your finger into something, something bad might happen to that finger.
One of his favorite parts of the whole trip was the miniature sink for him to wash his hands in. He stood there for about five minutes.
It was a great time and since the zoo is only about 30 minutes from our place via the #2 train - I'm sure we'll be back often.
We just got back from a quick trip to Utah. Chris' niece, Samantha, and my brother, Andrew, both graduated from BYU last weekend (good job guys). So, we flew out to see them and to get a lot of business done too. Unfortunately, we kept forgetting our camera...
(Samantha, holding Gunnar last Thanksgiving)
(Andrew, looking the way he always looks all of the time, for real, I'm not joking)
Both Chris and I are BYU grads ourselves and we both have fond and interesting memories of our days there. It's a great school. Standards are high, tuition is low and we're hoping a lot of the kids we work with apply there. It really is an amazing university.
Even when you can't find one single fluid ounce of caffeine anywhere on the entire campus and you really need it because your baby was up all night with explosive poo and you're sitting in a warm, crowded room where the graduation speeches are extremely long and way to inspirational to stay awake through. BYU is still awesome.
