Anna Kate and Caroline completed a childhood rite of passage a few weeks ago - their first experience with swimming lessons! They both had a great time swimming a few times last summer, and then again in Costa Rica in October, but always with floaties and with Mommy or Daddy's hands right nearby. Our county rec department does swimming lessons at a pretty good price, so we knew we wanted Anna Kate to do it. When I found out you could add a sibling for just $15, we couldn't pass it up. Now, Caroline's first day went exactly as I had envisioned it. She lasted about 4 minutes with her teacher in the big pool and then wanted to go to the baby pool.
Let's just say she demonstrated a healthy fear of the water. So when we got home that day, I made her a deal. If she would stay in the big pool for 20 minutes, she could spent the last 20 minutes in the baby pool. She did so well that second day that I almost didn't mention when her 20 minutes was up; but I wanted to be true to my word, so I told her she could go to the baby pool. She got out, stepped in the baby pool, then looked at me and said, "I go back to the big pool now!" And she never looked back!
Anna Kate also did very well and learned a lot of new skills. She can now push off from the side of the pool, put her face in the water, blow bubbles through her nose, and paddle all over the pool using just a noodle for floatation. I was so proud of both of them!
Eleanor enjoyed a little bit of splashing and just relaxing with Mommy.
It was quite a production for me to get all three girls dressed, to the pool, showered off, in the pool, showered off again, dried, dressed and back home, but we did it! We may or may not have looked like a circus act, but we succeeded, and had a great time!
Oh, and just for fun, how about some comparison pics of all three girls in the same swimsuit!
Anna Kate, 4 months old
Caroline, 7 months old
Eleanor, 4 months old
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