Fearless

Today was the last day of of swim classes for Maddie and Ruthie. We took them at Vanderbilt, and with the help of Mark's mom, we were able to do the parent/child classes. Mark's parents live in their pool all summer, so we thought it would be a good idea to get the girls into some swim classes since they will be living in the pool with them when they are up there. Overall I would say that the class was a success. The girls were never afraid of water, so we didnt have to overcome that obstacle like some of the other kids in their class. The worst thing we had was that the girls HATED swimming on their backs. Oh! And the fact that despite it was an indoor pool the water was freezing!

I dont know how many of you have taken infant swimming classes, but it basically is you in the water with your child singing nursery rhymes and dunking them underwater when they least expect it. Granted, that isnt the way they describe it in their brochure, but that is the readers digest version. I think the best part about it is the consistency of getting them in the water and working with them on floating and getting their faces wet. By the end of the 9 lessons the girls both put their heads under water without crying. Progress!

Although I have previously posted that Ruthie is my little fish, I should be more specific. Ruthie is my little fish in a small pond. The girl likes her baby pool. Not such a huge fan of the big kid pool. Now Maddie on the other hand. That child is fearless!



She is all about the big pool. We put a lifejacket on her today and just let her go nuts in there. The girl was running and jumping into the pool all by herself. Well, I was in the pool catching her. I am not a completely negligent parent.

The best part was watching her on the stairs of the pool. She would get in, get to the second step and then just dive into the water towards me. They taught them in swim lessons to swim back to the side after they jump in, so she would turn back around and go back to the stairs to do it all again. I was shocked how well she did "swimming" on her own! I caught some video of it, but it is foggy for some reason, so it looks like we were swimming in the middle of a foggy day instead of a bright sunny day.

Hard to believe how big they are getting.....