The Dells

When Emily was little she had a nasal cannula in her nose for oxygen until she was almost three so we couldn't give her regular baths. So, by the time she had her first bath she was pretty old. And during her first bath she stood up and slipped right out of the tub and skidded across the floor on her belly! For quite a while after that she was terrified to move in the tub and would just sit with both arms out, pressing against the tub walls! But, in our infinite wisdom, we decided to take her to the Wisconsin Dells when she was two. Let's just say it was not her favorite vacation! Not only was she scared of being in even the baby pool, the acoustics really bothered her sensitive ears!

A few years ago, we put up a pool in the back yard and that really helped her learn to love swimming. And last year, she faced down her fears of water slides! So, seven years later, we decided to give the Dells another try. It was a hit!! I think Olivia only got sponge baths in the orphanage her first four years and had similar tub/pool fears, but she was really warming up to swimming, too! In Florida over Christmas break, she started putting her head under and this time she was staying under a long time "swimming!" To our surprise she even went on a bunch of water slides! We all had a great time and they can't wait to go again!