Swimming

Maddie LOVES to swim!  She talks about it all the time and she is getting more adventurous every time she gets in the pool.  She also gets to participate in "water days" and "beach parties" at her daycare so here she is one morning ready to go for a beach party with baby.   

 But baby needs her breakfast first.

She started the summer (or really just a little over a month ago) requiring her swim vest and a preserver/float to get in the pool.  Like the crabby below. 

 But very quickly she was tired of being constrained so I started giving her "swim lessons" with her vest and some arm floats.  This video was one of the first times using the arm floats (sorry - just tilt your head to view :-).  She got the hang of it pretty quickly.

She has quickly become comfortable with the water and keeping her head up and making sure to always keep her feet kicking.  She has had "opportunities" to demonstrate her ability to get to the side of the pool with only her swim vest on (as in, while playing around with Mommy at a safe distance, she has fallen in and then rescued herself).  Every time we get in the pool we practice "falling in" and she's learned the routine of quickly turning around, grabbing the edge, shimmying to the ladder and calling for help.  I'm certainly not a trained professional and eventually we may take her to someone certified in swim lessons, but for now, I am very proud of the way she is picking up instruction.  She really loves the pool but also has a basic respect for the rules of being in or near the water.  I grew up around water (whether a pool or a creek or a lake or the beach) and it was a big part of my childhood - I hope it can bring as much enjoyment to Maddie and Tommie too.