First Day of Summer

Our first day of summer was spent at the pool. Ahhhh, this is the life! I think Eli and I are going to be here pretty much every day, because my little boy has turned into a fish. He LOVES the pool! It did take a couple of days for him to fall in love with the pool though. At first, he wasn't all too thrilled with getting in the water and he still isn't all about getting his hair wet, getting his sunglasses wet, or getting his face wet. I keep telling him not to be a whiner (great parenting, I know!)

Our first day at the pool was on Thursday last week. He wore regular floaties and they just didn't work out that well. Plus, I think he really did get scared earlier this spring when he fell into a pool when he was playing at Molly's grandmother's house. We got in the pool and he had a death grip on my arm and would not let go. He kept repeating my assurances back to himself over and over "I won't let you go, I promise. I'm not going to let you go under, I promise." It's funny hearing your words come out of your child.

He finally warmed up to the water, but decided that he'd rather sit on the steps and throw his water balls at me while I swam around him.

We still managed to have fun, but I knew we were going to have to find a solution to our problem of him not wanting to get in the water. I had a feeling that the floaties had something to do with it. I wanted to find the Puddle Jumpers brand because I'd heard such good things about how they helped kids learn to swim.

We went to see my parents and stopped by Bass Pro Shops and I found the Puddle Jumpers floaties! I was super excited, especially when I found out they were on sale for $5 less than normal. Eli and I tried them out Tuesday and they were SO MUCH BETTER for him! He was much more comfortable with them on and didn't act so scared. I love how they have that band that goes around their waist and they still have full use of their arms. Eli seemed much more at ease.

He's still not into getting his face, hair, or sunglasses wet though. I'm looking into doing swimming lessons with him this summer, but I haven't found anyone that's giving lessons yet. Until then we'll keep going to the pool to acclimate him to the water. Every day this week, he's gotten a little braver. He kicks those little legs like a pro, but refuses to go under water with me, slide with me, jump off the side to me, or blow bubbles. I know that all sounds like a lot, but it's what he was doing last year with me in the pool. He'll get there, I know it! Pretty soon, he'll be swimming like a little fish. Hopefully, a fish that doesn't mind getting his hair, eyes, or face wet :)

Here's a video of my little fish swimming :)