swim like a fish

Joey started swimming lessons last week. He goes Tuesday and Thursday mornings for 30 minutes, so today was his 4th lesson.
Let me tell you, he has come a LONG way since lesson #1.
Parents are technically not supposed to watch during lessons, but we do take a peek now and then. During the first lesson when I took a peek, I saw Joey sitting on the side of the pool crying or in the pool clutching one of the teachers for dear life. But, the amazing thing I did see, though, was that, even though he was crying, he would get up and do whatever the teachers told him to do. I was so proud of him for doing it even though he was so afraid.

Lesson #2 only involved a few tears during the lesson, and by Lesson #3 he was excited to be at swimming lessons. He would tell me afterwards that he was just a little bit "nervous" and "frust-er-ated." I have no clue how he knows the word frustrated, but it's pretty cute anyway! I keep telling him he is learning to 'swim like a fish' to encourage him.

Meredith picks up Joey at Joe's work on Thursday mornings and takes him to swimming lessons (Connor and Audrey are in his same class) and then takes him back to school, since I work on Thursdays. (Yep, she totes all three of her kiddos and Joey!)

Well, according to Meredith, Joey did awesome today.
He went down the slide by himself, went under water, then the instructor turned him around, and Joey swam THREE feet ALL BY HIMSELF with his face under the water.
I didn't know I could be this proud!! :)

Here he is getting ready to go down the slide.

Joey and Connor before swimming lessons. They both have green goggles because, of course, green is both of their favorite colors!

The kids love going to swimming lessons. Not only do they get to swim for 30 minutes, they get to run on a fun path to get to the pool from the car. It goes by a little pond, so of course they throw rocks into the pond on the way back. We usually get there a few minutes early, so they get to run around in the grass for a few minutes (while Mere and I try to keep them somewhat under control so we aren't those moms that let their kids disrupt the current lesson!) :) They are fond of the dog that runs around, which they have named "poopy dog" because they saw the dog eat some poop the first time they saw it. :) Oh, to be an almost-4 and almost-5-year-old boy (luckily I never was one!!)

All that to say, we are enjoying our summer swimming lessons. Kylah has a little bit of a hard time because she sees the pool and the slide and wants to swim. Her only consolation is that she gets to sit with the mommies and baby Maffew (Matty)---whom she isn't really allowed to touch yet.... Well, at least Mere lets her watch Dora on her I-phone! :)