Swimming!

A few days into swim lessons I had almost given up on Luke.  He doesn't want to get in, he didn't want to try floating or jumping or anything.  No matter how much patience I prayed for, I had just about had it with him.  Then I remember how long it took Olivia to really get in and enjoy the water (and truthfully, she was a whole year older than him when she was swimming).  Maybe it was because I loved swimming so much as a child I just figured it would get to them somehow.  

Well, yesterday I tried in vain to get Luke to jump in. I figured once he jumped, it would be cake from there.  That's how it worked with Olivia. Once she jumped she started swimming (and boy can she swim...more on that later).  But, Luke had NO interest in jumping.  But I know that to get Luke to do just about anything, I have to force him, basically throw him in.  So, a few hours into our pool day, I tricked him.  I lifted him out of the water to the wall and then brought him right back in. Soon he was jumping giddily off the side.  He still holds my hand, but WOW, what an improvement!!

A few times I've been able to slip one hand out and just have him hold one hand, but he knows those tricks!  Olivia was jumping on her own in one day, Luke proves to be a challenge (as usual), I predict in a week he might be jumping on his own.   Let's just hope he does it in lessons!!

As for Olivia.  She is proving to be my swimmer.  She can swim across the small pool underwater without any breaths, she jumps off the side with abandon and she has quite a good freestyle going!

With a few tips from grandmama last week (she won't listen to me of course...hello, I was a coach!) she has been getting her strokes down pat!  She loves her goggles and we have "tea parties" on the bottom of the pool (I look like a 13 year old, but i don't care).  I just have to work on her distance and breathing, but she's getting it!  I can see the swim team in our future next year!