Kathryn's 4th birthday

Kathryn's birthday is not for a couple of weeks, but since we are expecting a new baby in the Fink side of the family and just don't know what life will be like for the Finks in a few weeks, we went ahead with the party this weekend at our monthly Fink day. We played in the pool for hours before coming in for cake and ice cream - and presents, of course!

I was so proud of Julian in the pool. He has been hesitant in the past to explore much in the water, and really wouldn't go far away from the edges unless he had a firm footing.

Actually last year was the first year he was tall enough to stand away from the edge without going under. Well, with floaties on, it is really hard to get a head under the water, so we encouraged him to try swimming - real swimming. I took him to the deep end of the pool, which is only about 6 feet, I think, and told him I would be right beside him, but I was going to let go of him, and he needed to kick. Of course he screamed and yelled and tried to claw his way back to my neck, but after a few minutes, he realized he was swimming on his own in the deep end - no cheating by putting his feet down this time! He loved it and from then on, we couldn't keep him in the shallow side. He and his cousin Evan spent most of the day running and jumping in and of course racing from one end of the pool to the other. It was great race to watch- a 5 year old and a 7 year old doing the doggy paddle.

Evan has always been much more comfortable in the water than Julian. He is a really good swimmer.

Kathryn normally takes it pretty easy when we're there - staying at the steps and playing there, unless she's riding around on someone's back. This time, she used a dive toy as a shampoo bottle, and we all had to go sit on the steps and let her give us a bath and wash our hair (really all she did was pour water on top of our heads!).

I also have to say, my brother, who will be a new Dad in just a few weeks, was awesome with the kids on Saturday. Every time I turned around he was playing some game with one of the little ones. I suspect he was having a good time too, but I could just see how much fun he is going to be as a Dad. Because of that, I won't post the really GREAT picture I got of him jumping in the pool with a goofy look on his face. (Even though he was being the typical big brother and constantly splashing me in the face while we swam and totally deserves it!).

It was a really great day - the weather was good all day, the water temperature was perfect, and all of the little kids played well together the whole day. Kathryn had a really great pool party!