a splash

We've been making a bit of splash this summer.  Not around this blog, obviously, but at swimming lessons, at least.

We dove into swimming lessons at the end of June.  The lessons were recommended by dear friends and took place at their community swimming pool.  To our girls' delight, they and their best friend were enrolled in the same session.  (At least for the first two sessions.  We got split up by the third session.  But the first two were such fun!)

Our girls had never taken swimming lessons before, so they started at the very beginning.  They loved it.  Well, to be fair, Madeline wasn't completely sold on the idea at first.  She'd never been to a class without one of us before, so it was a bit of an adjustment.  Fortunately, Madeline loved her instructor, a Russian exchange student called Natalia.  And she warmed up to the water just as she warmed up to Natalia.  In no time at all she was kicking and splashing and jumping and floating.

Madeline stayed in the first level for all three sessions, but Kathleen moved up after the first.  Consequently, Kathleen had a number of different instructors.  Fortunately her love for the water has little to do with her teacher.  She also seems to think that he swimming skills have little to do with her teacher.  She would try to "learn more swimming" when she was supposed to be hanging on to the wall. (The teachers earned their money with her!)  I guess all the kicking and "arm-circling" and jumping and diving wasn't enough...

And on the off chance you were concerned about John David feeling left out, since he was too small for these lessons, let me assure you that he did not suffer.  (Mommy and me lessons are offered at a separate time and we couldn't swing every day childcare for the girls, so Indy will have to wait until he's older...)  We'd hang out, watching the girls in the water, reading books, playing with a toy car, blowing bubbles, and eating snacks.  When all those diversions would fail, I'd go ahead and stick him in the baby pool. He didn't seem to mind.

And occasionally, when even the water wouldn't hold his attention, he'd rearrange the deck furniture. The child knows no limits.

Lessons finished up just yesterday, and we celebrated with a special lunch out. We're sad to see the end of swimming (let's not talk about summer ending, okay?), but we're excited for all that's coming this fall -- dance lessons (for the girls, not John David!), a new brother, and even school.