Our very last swim lesson was Saturday morning and our little boy became a little fishy. Throughout the weeks Charlie has alternately participated and refused to participate in various practices. Always a fan of the 5 little monkeys jumping into the water, he's rarely enjoyed blowing bubbles (though who could blame him with the high chlorine content) or being a "little pancake" floating on his back -- his fear of which was actually one of the main reasons we signed up for swim lessons in the first place.
This week, though, it was almost as if he understood it to be the last lesson and reminiscent of his mom's college days, stepped it up a notch for the "final exam". Charlie was kicking and paddling and floating and blowing bubbles like a pro -- Miss Cheryl even chose him to demonstrate going underwater while Mommy let go! I was so proud!
While Jason and I had vaguely discussed signing Charlie up for some sort of lessons this year, taking this class at the Y was actually a last minute decision, based only on the fact that Philip, his buddy from church, would be in the same class. And I have to admit that on the first Saturday morning back in February, I wondered if it was a mistake. The pool was tiny, the air was thick and hot and the room was crammed full of very loud parents and kids of all ages -- not the setting I had imagined -- plus our registration had been lost, so Charlie wasn't on the list, and Miss Cheryl seemed very hesitant to add a ninth member to the class.
We muddled through the first lesson though and celebrated with an afternoon playdate with Philip. Over the weeks we've had a few more playdates, learned some great songs and developed a love for throwing plastic toys and "swimming" after them -- not to mention spider-walking along the side of the pool and sit-diving into the water.
Grateful as we are to have a 2 year old who can now somewhat relax while floating on his back and periodically stick his face in the water and to have a host of fun games to play when the pool opens in less than two weeks...the very best part of swim lessons was the cuddling.
As I've bemoaned time and again in my posts, Charlie is not a particularly "cuddly" baby -- he's far to busy to sit and snuggle, but in the pool for 30 minutes a week, our little Mr. Independent clung to me and laughed with me and snuggled and gave kisses, and I loved every second of it. I would highly recommend swim lessons to all parents...not so much for the skills but for the fun and the hugs. It just doesn't get better than that!
Not so sure about this...
Made it through the first lesson
Mom blows bubbles like a champ!
The Itsy-Bitsy spider walks down the shiny rail...
Floating...almost...
Fun Times!
Looks like he was a big fan of the pool!! Lakely starts her lessons next week-hoping it goes as smoothly :)
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