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No school today = fun at Cub Run

Dog Pool Party



Our HOA has an annual dog swim that we've been wanting to do for several years and now we finally made it!  Kaika has only gone swimming once in Davenport when he was a puppy and that wasn't a pretty sight.  So we thought we would try again...in hopes of no drowning or rescue incident.  He didn't exactly look happy, but he did great!  He came home tired but happy he got to have a doggie playdate!

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Enrolled Ethan in a last minute swim lessons near our house.  So proud of him for completing it (because he dreads it every year!)

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Gavin threw up at Target today as I went to get Ethan goggles for his first day of swim lesson.  Poor kid had a fever of 105 and was lethargic by bed time.  Hopefully it'll kick soon!

Pee Wee Paddler II

Session II today which didn't start off very well.  ALL morning Ethan kept saying he doesn't want to go and I could tell he was feeling anxious about inhaling the water again.  (I totally get it though because I'm exactly the same way.  I get anxious just driving him to soccer lesson - and Brian laughs at me).  I tried to talk him through it, but we really got nowhere.  Finally I had to use the "most of your friends already know how to swim" card which I normally don't like to do, but it got him to stop whining.  Then I had to use the "I don't actually know how to swim because I quit too soon" card in order for him to put on his swim trunks and get out the door.  On the way there, we prayed and I told him that Jesus will be with him.  I also repeated the instructions: goggles, breath and bubbles.  He got into the pool unwillingly and once it was his turn, all I can see was his little face looking at me...crying.  I got super teary and found myself repeating out loud "blow bubbles, buddy blow bubbles" while clinching my hands.  Don't ask me why, but I'm sure lady next to me thought I was weird.  Once he figured out, I saw a big smile across his face as he waved to me.  And I exhaled in relieve.  He had fun the rest of the lesson and said he couldn't wait to come back tomorrow.  The whole way home he kept asking me in excitement, "Did you see me?"  And I answered in the same tone of excitement, "Yes, buddy I was watching you the whole time.  I knew you could do it!!!  I'm so proud of you!"  I know this isn't even the real thing yet, but I guess I'll have to get use to this - fast.

Pee Wee Paddler I

Today is Day 4 of 7 for Ethan's swimming lessons.  Wasn't sure if he would mind being in the pool without me, but he was fine.  In fact, Mr. Social was having so much fun giggling with the other kids that his teacher had to remind him to listen.  The plus thing about having this indoor is that I don't have to lather him up with sunscreen and weather is not an issue.  I finally remembered to bring my camera so here are some pictures:

 

Swim Lessons

Today we began our parent-tot swim class for the 3rd time and I have to say I was a little nervous. You never know how these things will go considering one summer Ethan loved it and one summer he did not. We talked about it all weekend and I tried to hype up the for him. As soon as we arrived, he was SO excited and wanted to get in the pool right away. He knew all the songs and what to do. Loved everything minus being dunked. He said, "No going under. Don't like it." Haha. His friend, Kyle also enrolled so they had fun together. So much fun that neither of them wanted to leave. Afterwards, we all went to a park and played for a little bit but ended up leaving soon after since it was too hot to be out for too long. The water and sun combo definitely wiped him out since he's still sleeping as I type =0)

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Spent the evening cooling off at the pool. Ethan had so much fun he didn't want to leave.

Swim Lessons

Today was the first day of the two-week Parent-Tot swim class that I enrolled Ethan in. It's the same one we did last year which he loved, but this year he seemed to be a lot more fearful of the water. He screamed as soon as we enter the water. And continued to scream while we were in the water and clinged on to me for dear life. He doesn't really care to do the floating or kicking either. I wonder why since we've taken him to the pool several times. Maybe he's starting to understand the whole drowning factor and was scared. Or maybe he just needed to be distracted. I don't know, but I supposed I should lower my expectations or not have any at all and simply just enjoy the time with him. I must say though that he did loved playing with the toy rings in the shallow water and was on a mission to collect them all. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Working on His Tan

It's opening weekend at the pool for the summer and we thought it'll be fun to go as a family. And I must say we got a lot of "Whoa's" out of Ethan today. EVERYTHING was fascinating!

Burr, it's cold

Kick, kick, kick

Swimming - Week #2

Yay, we're finally done with swimming lessons!!! It was fun, but it also took a lot out of both of us. By the time 6 pm rolls around, Ethan's pretty tired and he still has to get home to eat, take a bath and go to bed. Anyway, I'm looking forward to having a low-key, relaxing evening starting tomorrow =0)



My tired lil' swimmer
Some of the skills Ethan had learned:
✔ Getting Wet
✔ Water Entries
✔ Exploring the Pool
✔ Front Float (with aid)
✔ Front Glide (with aid)
✔ Leg Action on Front
✔ Back Float (with aid)
✔ Back Glide (with aid)
✔ Leg Action on Back
✔ Jumping In
✔ Using Lifejacket
✔ Water Exits/Lifting Out
✔ Intro to Front Crawl Arms

Ethan the Brave

There were a lot of crying kids at swimming lessons today because they had to use the life jackets and for some reason, they were freaked out by them. But oh no, not Ethan. Even though he is the youngest, he is probably the bravest one of all! The struggle came more with putting the jacket on because he was whining the whole time. But then again, I should be use to that since it's a daily thing for us. Anyway, first he had to float on his back with it on and then on his front. He wasn't necessarily smiling while kicking his feet and floating since he was pretty tired, but at least he tried. I felt like such a proud mamma!!!

Lessons

This week is the beginning of a busy next couple of weeks. Ethan and I started the Parent-Tot swimming class yesterday which come to find out, he is the youngest student there. So that means he can't really follow along with the singing and hand movements activities, but he does enjoy just splashing around in the water. The classes are about 30 minutes which is pretty long considering that he's kicking, jumping and swallowing a lot of water the whole time. I think he had a lot of fun even though he was losing steam pretty quickly towards the end of it.

Then today, my friend, Jenn and I started our tennis lesson. I've always wanted to learn how to play ever since the summer Brian and I met when I attempted to play tennis for the very first time. I figured it can't be that hard but after 15 minutes of playing home run derby and constantly sending Brian after the balls, he decided it wasn't very fun and we quit. So that was the end of it. Now 7 years later, I am super excited at this opportunity to take lessons and thought I would give it a shot. So Jenn and I went and it turned out that we were the only 2 people who signed up which was great because it was practically like a private lesson. It was a lot of fun and if I may say so myself, I thought we both did really well for the first class. Now we just need some cute tennis outfits to go with our new awesome skills =0) Can't wait to have a rematch with Brian!

Future Swimming Star

With a few swimming practices (in the mini pool) under his belt, we decided to take Ethan to the real pool today. I started him out slowly in the zero dept zone where he splashed away like he usually does at home. It didn't seem to take him very long to get use to the water so I brought him in further where he could really get his arms and legs moving. It was pretty funny to watch him swim with such concentration since he hardly smile, but I could tell that he was enjoying every moment of it! Both Brian and I agreed that this kid was born to swim =0)



What a natural!

Water Fun

Ever since I got Ethan a kiddie pool, I've been waiting for an 80 degree day to use it. Well the temperature didn't get up that high today, but I was too excited I couldn't wait any longer. So out came the pool (which was a lot smaller than I thought) and in goes the warm water. As I was filling it, Kaika decided to help himself to the big "water bowl." It was pretty funny! Anyway once I sat Ethan in it, it took him a while to take it all in. But then suddenly he realized that this is kinda like his bath tub but bigger and decided to splash away. The best part was when he kept rotating in a circle while on his tummy...apparently just loving it! Well, this lil' guy must have wore himself out because he took like a 2-1/2 hour nap afterwards. I have a feeling he's gonna grow up to be one of those kids who doesn't want to get out of the pool when it's time to go home =0)