Here in Arizona, Spring is on the calendar and Summer is in the air (we had highs at 97 this week!). Combine the warming weather, the family/friend pools and your curious toddler and you come out pretty certain that swimming lessons are important. Add in the fact that the electric company was sponsoring some FREE classes in Chandler and you come out pretty certain that swimming lessons are possible.
And so I nervously signed up my child for swimming lessons. Nervous for Ammely? Not so much. Nervous for me? Yes. Yes indeed.
Swimming is not a strength for Miss Ammely's parents. We both can doggy paddle and get to the side of a pool pretty well. Drop us in the middle of a lake though - pretty sure we'll make it a yard or two and sink to the bottom. So I was half sure the swim instructor would have to continually rescue ME and my child as she tried to teach a class full of tots how to swim. Plus, I'm pregnant. It's pretty tricky to feel good about being seen in a swimming suit EVER, but it's especially painful when you're an ever-expanding mass of humans. Oh well. The sacrifices of motherhood.
But how bad could it be? It was only two weeks! So we took that first big step and got in the water.
It wasn't so bad at all! We practiced our bubbles.
Here she is with her Swim Teacher, Carly.
She even became the star pupil at doing "star fish".
But then things got less comfortable for our two-year old...scary, even. We went all the way under for the first time.
And tried back floating. She was really not so fond of these past two endeavors.
Ammon's commentary here is pretty fantastic.
But we kept going. Even Daddy got in to show her the ropes once!
And just look at that progress already! MUCH more comfortable on her back with Daddy. Aren't Daddy's just so safe?
She just kept getting better.
Counting down to jumping in.
It wasn't all sunshine, however. In fact, we had one day that was downright cold. Which translated into downright miserable.Which meant we had only a few minutes of cooperation and a lot of minutes of huddling for warmth and comfort.
She DID survive though and we're so glad she did. By the last lesson she had made all kinds of improvement and was doing things she refused to even try in the beginning.
Like floating on her back.
And kicking. And holding onto the wall.
And in the end she got to walk away with get carried away with her very first diploma!
It was a success. I will certainly be looking for more deals on future swimming lessons and am eagerly counting down the days until the non-heated pools at our disposal are warm enough to play and practice in. Perhaps our little girl will have more of a gift for swimming than her folks.
And so I nervously signed up my child for swimming lessons. Nervous for Ammely? Not so much. Nervous for me? Yes. Yes indeed.
Swimming is not a strength for Miss Ammely's parents. We both can doggy paddle and get to the side of a pool pretty well. Drop us in the middle of a lake though - pretty sure we'll make it a yard or two and sink to the bottom. So I was half sure the swim instructor would have to continually rescue ME and my child as she tried to teach a class full of tots how to swim. Plus, I'm pregnant. It's pretty tricky to feel good about being seen in a swimming suit EVER, but it's especially painful when you're an ever-expanding mass of humans. Oh well. The sacrifices of motherhood.
But how bad could it be? It was only two weeks! So we took that first big step and got in the water.
It wasn't so bad at all! We practiced our bubbles.
Here she is with her Swim Teacher, Carly.
She even became the star pupil at doing "star fish".
But then things got less comfortable for our two-year old...scary, even. We went all the way under for the first time.
And tried back floating. She was really not so fond of these past two endeavors.
Ammon's commentary here is pretty fantastic.
But we kept going. Even Daddy got in to show her the ropes once!
And just look at that progress already! MUCH more comfortable on her back with Daddy. Aren't Daddy's just so safe?
She just kept getting better.
Counting down to jumping in.
It wasn't all sunshine, however. In fact, we had one day that was downright cold. Which translated into downright miserable.Which meant we had only a few minutes of cooperation and a lot of minutes of huddling for warmth and comfort.
And lots of layers in the car on the way home. And of course, after swimming snacks! (Usually apples).
The look on her face after swimming lessons always made us partly amused and partly sympathetic. It was the "My parents just tried to kill me and I barely survived" look.
She DID survive though and we're so glad she did. By the last lesson she had made all kinds of improvement and was doing things she refused to even try in the beginning.
Like floating on her back.
And kicking. And holding onto the wall.
And in the end she got to
It was a success. I will certainly be looking for more deals on future swimming lessons and am eagerly counting down the days until the non-heated pools at our disposal are warm enough to play and practice in. Perhaps our little girl will have more of a gift for swimming than her folks.
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