The Burlingames

We started a toddler swimming class this week. The parent(s) are in the water with the toddler. Here’s a break down of how week one went for us…

Monday – Eli screamed and cried most of the time. I did get him to stop crying for a few minutes while we did some playing. I was getting a lot of pity looks from people. Dave did not come with to the class.

Tuesday – Dave came with us (lessons are in the morning before Dave has to work) and it went much better. Eli cried as soon as we entered the building, fussed as I got him ready to swim, whined as he got in the water with Dave and I, but was laughing within 5 minutes. Dave did a wonderful job of getting him comfortable and laughing. Eli had a much better day in the water.

Wednesday – Eli was happy the entire time. We played ball with the swim instructor and the other student. He had tons of fun hanging out with Dave and making faces at me. He kept signing ‘more please’ throughout the entire class. We all had a great time!

Thursday – Eli waltzed right into the building and headed toward the locker room. He claimed a locker for us, took off his shoes and hat, he needed help with his shirt. He scurried toward the pool door, as soon as we got into the pool area he babbled about the water and balls (there are toys to play with in the pool). I jumped in the pool and Eli insisted on taking the ladder into the pool. He kicked and swam, watched me blow bubbles, threw a ball around in the water for us to chase, put a floaty device on and swam only holding onto one of my fingers and giggled a lot. Eli was having fun until we went over to the landing. He was able to stand up on his down and the water was up to his chest. However, he was not happy. It was something new and different, he wasn’t comfortable with it. There was a lot of cry, screaming and clinging to me for the last few minutes of class. Dave wasn’t able to come with us today due to his work schedule.

Each day, Eli has fallen asleep on the way home from swim lessons. Apparently swimming tires him out! We have four more days of swim lessons next week. Hopefully we can have a great week and end the lessons on a good note.

BOY!!! Dave and I had an ultrasound today. Everything went well and the doctor called to say all is well. This was very reassuring and huge news for us (me especially). We were very pleased the baby showed us his goods so we could find out the gender. We are very excited to add another little boy our family!! Eli is going to have a little brother!!

I finally saw Watchmen again this evening after having seen it originally in the theater during its initial release. I enjoyed the movie just as much as, if not more than, the first time I saw it. It was fun to know the story and watch for subtle details I missed the first time round.

TANGENT ALERT: Forgive me if you prefer the word ‘film’ to ‘movie,’ but I have an aversion to using the former as it sounds a little too snobbish for my liking. ‘Film,’ in its current, common use, seems to imply superiority over the other. I liken it to the jargon thrown around in various industries. My own educational experiences yielded many similar examples, most glaring of which is the design industry’s preference for the term ‘typeface’ over ‘font.’ People using the latter were often corrected and occasionally perceived as amateurs. ‘Film’ conjures up similar feelings of elitism. These terms seem to be used in a way that attempts to legitimize taking the time to discuss them. </TANGENT>

I enjoyed the way the movie explored the darker side of heroes and humanity. Oddly enough, I found a similar theme in another movie the other night: The Incredibles. The heroes in that story were also shut down by the government and forced into hiding, living mundane lives as seemingly ordinary people. However, being a Disney flick, their return to glory had a bit happier ending.

A friend asked me after originally seeing Watchmen what I thought of it as a person who had not read the graphic novel [the ill-informed might have called it a comic book; perhaps I should have]. I told him that I liked the great detail that was given to each character and, because it was well done, didn’t mind the length of the show (a long 162 minutes). It would have been very easy to cut the movie down to a more common length by eliminating much of the detail and sticking to a linear plot line, but it wouldn’t have had the same impact.

I didn’t set out writing this post with any great purpose other than to say I liked Watchmen. That said, I would highly recommend this movie.