It was a crisp September 16th. Joe was heading into the indoor pool with Katrina. A lot was on his mind; swimming lessons, what they were going to have for dinner that night, his twenty-fifth birthday was just two days away…

He snapped into focus when he got into the pool area. "Hi, everyone," said Stephanie, "welcome back to Baby and Me. We're gonna start with getting used to the water like normal."

The parents all got into the water. Joe found that the indoor pool water was much warmer than the outdoor pool water. Of course, he thought, they probably have some sort of temperature control in here that can't be installed outside. Katrina grinned when they got into the water.

"Now," said Stephanie, "today we're gonna do some independent baby swimming. Lie your baby on their back in the water, and then let go."

Lâcher?! Joe was appalled. Why, she could drown!

"It's okay," said Stephanie, snapping Joe back into reality. "Babies float way better than you think they do."

Okay. Joe steadied himself, then let go of Katrina. True to Stephanie's word, Katrina floated on her back with her head above the water. She looked around, surprised to be floating by herself. Still, she grinned and giggled. "Da'y, I fwo!"

"See," said Stephanie, "you just gotta have confidence that your kids know what to do." She glanced over Joe's shoulder. "Just make sure you keep an eye on your little escape artist."

Joe turned around and saw that Katrina was waving her arms around and swimming away! "Whoa!" He waded over and turned her around so she would swim back towards the class.

"Good job," said Stephanie once Joe got Katrina back to the class, "you're such a good swimmer!" Katrina grinned.


Once the meeting was over, Joe was coming out of the family locker room with Katrina in his arms, when he had a thought. Now that Katrina could walk and swim, it seemed only natural that she would want more freedom. He put her down on the floor. "Va a la porte, ma belle." (Go to the door, sweetie.)

Katrina toddled down the hallway, but was distracted when she looked at the cubby on the wall and found her shoes. She picked them up.

"Oui, retrouver tes chaussures. J'ai probablement besoin de te le dire en premierement." (Yes, get your shoes. I probably should have said that first.) He took his own shoes from the cubby. After getting their shoes back on, Katrina toddled to the door. "Bon travail, ma fille." (Good work, my girl.)


When Joe and Katrina got home, they went into the kitchen to make lunch. Joe thought that maybe he should let Katrina feel included in lunch, too. He opened the produce bin in the fridge. "Choisir la tomate, Katie." (Get the tomato, Katie.)

Katrina looked in the bin, and reached towards the cucumber. "Ce c'est un concombre," said Joe. (It's a cucumber.) Katrina paused for a moment, then reached towards the tomate. "Correct," said Joe. "Maintenant choisir le concombre." (Right. Now get the cucumber.)

Recognizing the word, Katrina picked up the cucumber. "Fille intelligente," said Joe, picking up the lunch turkey. (Smart girl.) He took the ingredients and put them on the counter, put Katrina in her high chair, and prepared two plates of cold cuts. Putting the plates on the table, he ruffled Katrina's hair, which was starting to grow thicker.

"I big girl," said Katrina, grinning.

"Ouais," said Joe, chuckling.