Last Tuesday my good friend, Tamara, invited us to go swimming with her at the Double Tree right down the street. I was so grateful for the opportunity to be drenched in water in stead of sweat for the first time in a week!
My boys don't have great water skills, so we were happy to stay in the foot deep pool. It was perfect! And we had it all to ourselves! Tamara's kids would play in there and then run to horse around in the bigger pool. Roman and Isaac had a blast, and even started getting braver. Isaac would crawl on his hands and let his feet float behind him with his face just above the water. Roman got a little crazy tackling his friends and chucking balls at each other.
Aaron loved the 81 degree water. Just like a giant bath. He liked sitting on the step and splashing.
When Isaac was a baby, he was fearless. I wanted so badly to just let go and see if he could swim. (But considering that I wasn't as attached to him as a baby as I was to Roman... I worried what people would think of my intentions. And WHO really lets go of their 9 month old to see if they will sink or swim?!?!?) The next year he was TERRIFIED of the water, and I wished that I had taught him to swim when he was willing.
I still didn't think that just letting a baby go and fend for himself was a great idea. Although it was very tempting. And I hadn't bought a baby float for Aaron, because I didn't plan on doing the pool thing too much this summer with 3 who can't swim. So I took some arm floaties from the boys, and a little inner tube that we had and got Aaron all suited up. The arm floaties kept him from falling through the inner tube, which doesn't have a seat in it like a baby float would. So his arms went out straight, with his floaties flat against the sides of his face, and he was stepping on the bottom of the pool and pushing himself around.... and LOVING every minute of it!!! It was so cute. I am STILL kicking myself for not getting a picture.
Sorry for the two posts without pics!! I will be more diligent about taking my camera with me. And if I drop it in the water, well then I guess I will HAVE to get a new SLR :p
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2 comments:
I have some cousins who at a few months old they were thrown into the pool, supposedly babies have natural swimming ability (i don't know about that), but they are all fish now. Ephraim also has a huge fear of water (maybe because he fell in the pool twice last summer but he had floaties on so really could it have been that traumatic I think not). He is content to sit out and just watch. The girls just took their first swimming lessons and they did great.
Ha hahaaa! Sometimes no pictures is better because my imagination is having a hay day with that description of Aaron in the tube with the floaties squishing his cheeks! :0)
My mom taught us all how to swim beginning at the age of 6 months. I always let my kids go in the water and back up, encouraging them to propel themselves toward me. Of course I always scoop them back up before they freak out (duh), but I think it's really good for them to just get used to putting their heads in the water. Anders (with the floaties on), will jump into a pool all by himself, get completely submerged, and pop right back up spluttering, ready to do it all again! He even tells me to move! Soren is not so brave because we waited until he was older. (I'm kicking myself, too!).
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