A little more swim

Another swim lesson today. Got some tips to make my freestyle more efficient. Realized that freestyle is so stinkin' hard because my teacher wants me to take a breath once every three strokes, not every two as I have been accustomed to (yes, I'm ending this sentence with a preposition). I also wore my tiiiiiiiiiight new swim suit and felt fabulous in it. Fabulous! Nothing jiggled once, and my shoulders are actually looking pretty strong these days, so I admired them in the mirror more than a couple times. Maybe every time I walked past a mirror. And sometimes even in the pool.

Ah, vanity.

After my lesson, the little boys and I enjoyed free swim. James is gaining more and more confidence every trip to the pool. He's learned to paddle around the pool with a couple noodles under his armpits to help him stay afloat. That makes him SO happy. Freedom!

Matthew let me put a floatie belt on him and pull him around by my fingers. Can I call that "finger swimming"? None of my previous children have been so comfortable in the water this young, even with a full life vest.

The best part, though, was afterwards. Only two kids to shower and dress! Both old enough to hold a towel around themselves and walk to the changing room. Both able to listen to instructions and wait patiently for their turn. James is even old enough to dress himself (though he prefers not to) and will help a little in that way, too.

This growing up thing is beautiful.

A couple funny bits:

In the dressing room, Matthew started shouting potty words. James tried to scold him, but Matthew contended that we WERE in a bathroom. James thought for a second, I thought for a second, and we had to agree. He was allowed to continue.

At dinner we were talking about our day. The pool came up and Matthew stood up, in all seriousness, with his chin lowered a little and his eyes wide and eyebrows up, "Me pee in pool." He said it like he was telling on someone else. I wasn't sure what he expected from this big reveal, but it wasn't a joke. We just kinda acknowledged that kids his age do that until they're potty trained. Then he sat down.