Fishing and Swimming lessons

You can tell by Ella Catherine's face that she isn't exactly excited about being in the cold pool.
After a little while she warmed up and Matt had her kicking all over the pool
Ready to go fishing with Daddy
Practicing her casting and reeling in.
First thing the next morning she had to have her pole and wanted to cast and reel, made Matt proud!


We have been trying to spend some one on one time with Ella Catherine since Carter has come home. We have been lucky because my mother has been here helping us adjust and so she could watch Carter for us. Last weekend Matt voiced he was going fishing and Ella Catherine asked if she could go. He was THRILLED!!!! The initial plan was just to go down to the river and scope out the area to see if there was a good fishing spot. When they got there Ella Catherine wanted her pole. We had not purchased her a pole yet, but Matt loaded her up in the truck and went to buy a pole. Being the good daddy that he is, he even bought her the Barbie fishing pole that came with a flower shaped tackle box. She was so excited!!! It was too late to go fishing that day but that didn't stop her and Matt from practicing casting and reeling in the "big one" in our living room. She has asked daily since then about fishing and is excited to have a day with daddy fishing this upcoming weekend.
Ella Catherine also started swim lessons this week. Matt has done an amazing job with her. She is not a huge fan of the bath and so we were concerned about how well she would like the pool. We had mixed experiences last year when we took her to the pool, which added to our concerns. The first day went as expected. She was sooo excited about swimming all day. She was excited to put on her suit and was chanting all the way to swim class. However, when it came time to get in the pool she was not so excited. Infact, it took much coaxing by both myself and Matt to get her in the water and it was ultimately Matt who slowly got her to get in. Unfortunately, the water in the pool was extremely cold! It didn't help our cause. Poor little girl's lips were quivering and slightly blue in color and she kept telling Matt how cold she was. She did very well despite the cold water and I can't thank Matt enough for braving the cold waters every day to teach her how to swim.