Swim lessons

Austin finished 2 weeks of swim lessons last Friday and did great!  I am so proud of him.  He was very proud of himself as well.  Gigi and I went and watched him at show off day.

Here are some videos I took of him swimming.
We are officially ready for the summer!

Swim Lessons and Soccer

Austin finished up swim lessons this week.
He took for 10 weeks.  He was the youngest in his class by at least a year.
I think his age  and size definitely hindered him a little in this class.  He had a hard time paying attention.  He had no fear of the water so the teachers didn't mind that he was so young but I don't think they pushed him hard enough.
It was hard as a swim lesson teacher myself to sit and watch him not be pushed to do more.  I felt like he was doing more with me this summer than he was doing during class.  He was so little compared to the other kids that I don't think his teachers thought he could do it.
I didn't say anything throughout the whole class until the last class.  Yes, I was that mom who came up at the end of the class and threw him in the water and told him he could swim.  He had a life jacket on so I knew he would be fine but I was tired of watching the teachers gently lower him into the water and not let him do anything on his own.  David only made it to the last class so I am pretty sure I humiliated him but I wanted to show Austin he could do more than they were letting him do.  Looking back I probably shouldn't have done it but he was fine and did great on his own in the water (with a life jacket).

We are going to try another swim school in town this Spring.  I know he can do it if someone pushed him a little.

He is also taking Soccer right now (indoor) and loving it.  There are only 3 boys in his class so it is a lot of high energy.  One of the boys in the class is his best bud William (he missed the day I took pictures).  They are loving it!

What am I doing while Austin plays soccer...entertaining this little guy.

He wants to play with his brother so badly that he runs for the soccer balls and I am constantly chasing him away from the practice.

David came to watch this soccer practice so he helped contain the littlest one.
My 2 guys are at a really fun age.  They are playing together and really love being together.
They make up games together, chase and wrestle each other, and every morning Austin asks if he can read to Miller in his crib. I need to get this on tape. It's precious. He only reads for about a minute and then they start to wrestle. Boys will be boys!

Swimming lessons

Austin is taking swim lessons at our neighborhood pool. He is loving it!



I think he loves that he has something that is completely his own.



He has been practicing wearing his goggles everywhere but the water :).








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dare devil

Austin LOVES to swim and decided he was ready to jump off the diving board all by himself. When my dad was in town he would drop Austin in the water to me but this weekend, Austin jumped without any help (we were in the water). He loves doing it and wants to do it again and again.

Splash Park

My in-laws belong to an Athletic Club that has a Splash Park. Dingdad and I took Austin a few times last week. He LOVED it!!! The kid loves water. It would be shooting straight in his face and he would just giggle. He would fall and go completely under and just stand back up and keep running. It was such a fun place for him to go.

Running out for the first time

Loving being splashed

Running to Dingdad

Coming down the slide and going completely under

We are hoping to go one more time before Miller makes his arrival.

What Mommy has been up too

For the past 4 weeks I have taught swim lessons every week day (and one weekend).  I loved seeing the kids enjoy the water and learn some new skills along the way.  I took these pictures off of 2 friends blogs (I didn't take any pictures of my own).  

Swimming

More pictures of Austin and mommy swimming.  He loves the water.

in the baby pool

I purchased a baby pool for our backyard and we tested it out today since it was so hot. He loved it!! He splashed and splashed and splashed. I think this is going to be a fun activity for Austin and I this summer.

just hanging out in my pool

i did stick him in there naked. we do have lots of swimsuits but it was just easier to put him in there naked. 

watching Sadie run around like a crazy dog

(disregard the high grass, david is working ALOT so the yard has not been cut recently)

1st time swimming

David and I took Austin swimming for the first time last night. We had the best time. He did wonderful! I am a big advocate for children starting to swim at a young age (6 months is when I think you should start) because then they will never know a time that they weren't in the water. You need to teach your children to love the water but still keep a healthy fear of it. You always discuss water safety with them and how they must have mommy or daddy with them to get in the water. (I am obviously getting off on a tangent...being a swim lesson instructor and coach for 12 years will do that to you). Anyways...we had the best time watching him experience it for the first time.