Swimming Lessons

My sister has long been awaiting this blog post that I finally have a chance to write. With her help babysitting Hadley, I was able to enroll Caleb in swimming lessons twice a week at the WARF last month. Not only did he gain a few new skills, but it was a good bonding opportunity for me to have time alone with just him.

As we do with a lot of new things we are about to try, I began talking up "swim school" with Caleb days before the first lesson. He was so enthusiastic the morning of, it was hard to get him settled down and in the carseat as he scrambled around the driveway and yard.

Hadley didn't get a chance to join us in the pool that day, but she did get some quality time with Aunt Courtney, a little snooze in the car, and some Chick-fil-A.

Doing a little playing with the camera while they waited

The lessons only lasted about 30 minutes which isn't super long to wait, but combined with the half hour trip to Warrenton and back, it's a while for a little girl to have to hang out in the car. Since there is a nice playground on the property, I let the kids play outside awhile after our first swimming session so everyone could stretch their legs, enjoy the weather, and wear themselves out before nap. Aunt Courtney had to leave before we went down to play though which made it a little difficult to keep up with both of my busybodies who kept going different directions!

One day when I wasn't feeling well, Dave took off work and got the privilege of swimming with Cay-Cay. For the other six sessions, I braved the chilly water, getting a little one-on-one time with my boy while he tried a few new swim skills. The warmer pool where the kids would normally have swim lessons was being used for therapy, so for the most part we ended up in the large lap pool instead. The instructor taught the kids how to identify lifeguards, the dangers of running around the pool, and the importance of wearing sunscreen  in addition to a variety of strokes and kicks. After the first lesson though, what really stuck out to Caleb was that he learned how to be a frog and throw ducks at swim school.

Courtney caught a few pictures with her iPad for your blogging pleasure.

Warming up in the kid pool before the real swimming, the instructor reviewed safety tips and basic strokes/kicks. The kids had small diving rings to play with that they used to look into the water to "find" things like boats, fish, or treasure. When the teacher asked Caleb what he found, he supposedly had seen bulldozers and dump trucks with lots of dirt at the bottom of the pool through his ring.

Caleb was not nearly as clingy to me in the lazy river as he had been back in February when we first visited. Hopefully now he'll be ready for summer!

My face gives you and idea of the temperature. (This kid better know how much his Momma loves him!) A lot of the kids didn't even want to get in the pool because of the temperature, but Caleb didn't act like he minded much. He loved being in the kids' pool because of the fun features it held, but he at least was willing to get in the cold water and do what we asked. The first day he was especially enthusiastic, and the teacher even chose to use him in demonstrating a skill or two. In some of the following sessions, he was somewhat more stubborn about wanting to do specific things and avoiding others, but all three-year-olds have their moments.

Superman! One of his favorite moves

 

 

While he preferred to swim with Mommy, he let the instructor work with him too. Courtney said she thought out of all the kids she watched that he did the best job. (No favoritism there, of course!)

Poor Hadley wanted to get in the water so badly she could hardly stand it. Most days she snacked in the car or explored another part of the facility where the pool wasn't such a tease and the air was cooler. One day though, we went a little early and Aunt Courtney let her swim too.

Since the kids often fell asleep on the way home, we usually stopped somewhere after swimming to eat lunch to get their bellies full before nap time. Caleb's restaurant of choice was Country Cookin (which he settled on only after we explained that there is no Cracker Barrel in Warrenton). Courtney found this hilarious knowing my love for this restuarant, remarking sarcastically "Whose kid is that?" (Oh, yes! I'll claim him and follow him to the buffet.) Country Cookin was great for us because the kids ate free and there are lots of healthy options. Everyone could find something the liked! Chick-fil-A came in as a popular dining venue as well. What can I say, my kids have good taste and good taste buds.

A special thank you to my sister without whom I would have been unable to juggle both little ones and let Caleb participate in this fun learning experience. Though running back and forth to Warrenton twice a week was taking it's toll on this pregnant lady, we miss seeing Aunt Courtney so often now that it's over. We definitely enjoyed our time with her.