.....reach and pull.....

.....for the past two summers, I have been certain this will be it; the summer when either of the girls learned how to swim......even though Callie is one year younger than Elsie, she was the one I had to put into lessons as a 23 month old in the heart of winter because she would literally walk into pools fully clothed......it was so bad with her around the water, that I shamelessly waddled into the pool at 30 weeks pregnant with Callie dangling off my hip.....and I did it in a maternity bikini......since that was all I had.....just so she would learn to respect the pool.....and she did.....we no longer had to worry about her diving in full throttle, instead; she started to fear the water.....which was actually what we needed......and I hope I never have to do a swim lesson in a maternity two piece again......

....I had to break from recovering from a fast and festive weekend with old girlfriends (sans kids) and preparing for a socially tight calendar this week, just to quickly post on the progress we have been making in the pool.....this summer has been different and I can confidently say that this August, just may be the one when we ditch the water wings, the life vests and dive right in......

.....both girls are especially determined to learn to swim independently, so I signed them up for semi private lessons with one of their besties, William......I wasn't sure how it would go, as Elsie has been terrified of water on her face and Callie still has the wild, I don't need to wear my life jacket streak now that the winter lessons have been erased from her memory...... but this swim company is the real deal......they focus on swimming readiness and if your child has any sort of separation issue, they basically take your little one and politely shoo you off to the corner so they can do their business......the first lesson was too traumatic to take many photos.....all three swam....reluctantly......

.....so when lesson #2 arrived, they all strolled over to the pool confidently.......

.....and once we were pool side, their confidence dwindled a bit and they were back to clinging for their lives and scanning the outer banks of the pool looking for a familiar face......

.....eventually they warmed up, relaxed and let the instructor work with them on their water skills.....bubbles, floating, reach and pulls, kicking, diving off the side and turning to find the wall.....each little one got their own attention and it was fun to watch them gain more confidence with each minute they spent working on becoming better.....

.....and then they actually started to have some fun with it, too......

......and I think that because Brody had pool envy may have helped the big kids feel privileged to be in the water.....thankfully, Sara was there to capture some shots of the little fish because with Brody thrashing in my arms to escape and beeline for the pool side, there was no way I could have also multi tasked a camera too.......

     .....high five for William.....

....and I know these lessons wouldn't have gone half as well as they have been going if William hadn't of joined....although I don't think the girls understand that once we move, William will not be their neighbor anymore; it's possible that subconsciously, they do understand the concept.....he is all they talk about, all they want to see and swimming every Friday can not roll around quick enough at the beginning of the week.....

....and with that being said, I have already answered, five more days a bazillion times today with the question of, how much longer til we get to swim with William again?.....

....now back to unpacking, mending my hoarse voice, prepping for a big date with my love this week and a going away party with some of our best friends and neighbors.....

.....here's to loving swimming season....