The Pool

Boy, did we ever enjoy our community pool this summer. 

I don't have many pictures, for obvious reasons, though we did see a parent with a waterproof cover on his iPad at Water Country this past weekend- we may need to look into one of those for next summer. But, even from the few pictures I have you can really see the progression in Daniel's swim skills from beginning to end of summer.

Daniel REALLY enjoys the water and is already starting to swim underwater! While we don't want to discourage this bravery in the water, we are also careful to remind our courageous 3 year old of the importance of water safety.

Fortunately, while he is obviously very comfortable in the water, he also seems to have a pretty good grip on his limits. He's never once tried to jump in without us (I'm still recovering from the time Hayden did that when we took him to the pool one summer back when we were in our Burke townhouse- we were walking towards the pool, and the next thing we knew he had jumped in- luckily, Uncle Cliff was only seconds behind him). That's not to say, I'm still not a nervous ninny every time I'm with kids anywhere near the water.

Luckily for Dan, Daddy is a little more relaxed, so he takes the lead in teaching our little fish how to get around, very safely, while in the water. Must be where Daniel gets his swimming genes because he sure doesn't get them from me (I still cringe when I get my face wet that first time, you know with my contacts and all).

Anabella is a little more like her Mommy- she enjoys the water, but prefers the comfort of her swim vest. She's more reserved in the water than Daniel is, and I'm grateful that they're learning at different paces, as I don't know if we can handle two brave fish diving underwater just yet. 



This picture is from one of our early summer pool visits with Mom, Allie and the boys.
This was one of the first times Daniel started intentionally dunking his entire head underwater.

A few visits later: Daniel had shed the water wings and was using a noodle to stay afloat.
Water wings are good, but when learning to swim they can
create a false sense of security (according to Daddy- it does make sense).
This noodle is nice because it keeps him afloat while we pull him along & he practices kicking
and blowing bubbles.

Anabella likes to do the "spider crawl" along the wall that
she learned in swim lessons.

Daniel and Anabella both love Daddy's boat rides to the deep end
(Mommy's boat never leaves the shallow end). 

End of summer: Daniel was going underwater and "swimming" to Daddy!

Here we are eating watermelon at the end of summer pool celebration.

 

When you love water, you also love watermelon!!

Though pool season is now over, fortunately the Freedom Center, where we took our spring swim lessons, is close enough that we can keep practicing our swim skills this fall and winter. Gotta keep those little fish in the water! :)

Our community has a swim team, Bridlewaves. According to the mother of one of the little girls I tutor, it's one of the best in the area. Her daughter is on another swim team, so I don't guess she's too bias.  Our plan is to get both Daniel and Anabella in private lessons when they start up next summer. Never know, they might want to join  Bridlewaves some day! :)