Wa-waaaaaa!

As much as my child ADORES horses aka ORSES! she has found a new love as well, swimming. When we went to Lake Bruin it was the first time she's been swimming since she was 7 months old. So I was just hoping she didn't have issues with her face getting splashed and that she was fairly comfortable in the water with me. It would appear my worry was for naught. The child thinks she is a fish. Splash like crazy? No problem. Direct splash hit to the face? No problem. Complete submersion? No problem. The problem is she has no fear. She thinks she can swim, thinks she can go across the pool to play with Pruet without my help, thinks she can fling herself off the side of the pool without consequence. She thinks she can walk on water. So while I am thrilled she loves it, I have had to do a little fear training. That sounds ominous I know and it kind of is. At Lake Bruin we sat in the hot tub, (with the temp turned down), and she had no concept of the end of the ledge we were sitting on or that she would sink if she just struck out across the middle to say hello to William on the other side. My training involved this- I would tell the other mamas I was about to let her sink for a second before I did exactly that and tried to make her get it that she needed to stay on the ledge or hold onto mama and that she COULD NOT SWIM. The problem was that I physically couldn't stop myself from grabbing her so fast she didn't ever get scared or even water up her nose. I finally managed to 'let her drown' long enough to make her look before she lept but she still has very little fear. At the pool we go to at home she though she could just go from playing in the splash area pictured below to jumping off the side into the big pool alone. This too has gotten a little better with the learning of how to use the steps and the rail-but still she wants to swim and hates me holding her in the water. My little fish wears me out during a morning at the pool but she wears herself out too so we keep going back. If she even sees the beach bag, towel, or her crocs she starts saying, "Wa-waaa!" Loves it.


Drinking the water no doubt.

Not a great picture bc she is moving-which she never stops doing at the pool, but such a striking pose in her swimsuit I had to post it.