Wading

We went to Grauntie Neny's and Grandncle Ernie's house this afternoon to do a little "swimming." Since the boys don't actually swim yet, it's more like wading, actually. For that reason Auntie Neny's pool is perfect - there's a stepped area at one end where the boys can go waist deep and play with water toys.

Of course they brought their Lego fireboat, which has a little motor that attaches to the hull. It's not remote control, but because the pool is oval, the boat makes a full circuit and ends up right back with the boys. They also brought their magnetic fishing rod, which "catches" on the magnets on the fishes' snout.

Auntie Neny mentions something about color blindness on the Enriquez side, so just to get immediate feedback I take the different colored fish and have Baz identify their color. He identifies the basic shades without difficulty. But what if it's a differentiation-of-shade kind of thing (Malou says I have this problem with green)? So I ask him what kind of blue the blue fish is, and after doing nothing more than just a double take, he says, "Fish blue!" Oo nga naman!

The boys are cautious in the water and know they can't swim, so what I'll do is stand on the edge of the stepped area and have them walk out to me. Despite precautions, though, Hadrien still took a dunking. While seated on the pool's edge he leaned forward and went a little too far, going into the water. I fish him out immediately and he's none the worse for wear, if a little surprised. "I drowned!," he says, but I reassure him that he's all right and that there's nothing to worry about. For good measure we get mad at the pool, which according to Hadrien was the reason he fell.

A little later though I see him all contemplative and quiet, so we're wondering if the dunking made him afraid. Turns out, though, that he's looking at the wrinkles on his hands - he's worried they won't come off! Auntie Neny tells him not to worry about his "old man hands" because they'll become young again as soon as they dry off, but he's unconvinced and up to the time he asks to leave the pool 10 minutes later, keeps his hands out of the water. Vain din pala!