Yesterday Annie started round two of swim lessons (or as she calls them, POOOOOOOL LESSSSSSONNNNNNS!). Unlike last time, when she was in a Parent/Child class, these lessons were strictly student/teacher. Mike was nervous, for a few reasons: he thought she’d drown, he thought she wouldn’t be happy about being in the pool without us, he thought she wouldn’t even get in the pool. I was more worried that she’d have a great first day, and then hate it the rest of the time but it would be too late for a refund. So far, we are each about half-right.
We got to the pool after a cranky car ride. Lessons are at 4:15, and that’s the witching hour for Annie. Her naps are few and far between now, but she has quiet time in the hours leading up to dinner. When we pulled into the parking lot she suddenly realized why she had her swim suit on, and got really excited. That excitement tapered off fairly quickly when she discovered Mike and I weren’t going in the pool with her. Luckily, her teacher said, “Hey Annabel, want to pick out a toy to swim with?” Annie was putty in her hands after that.
She did really great. The only time she looked for us was to make sure we were watching her swim. She had tons of confidence with her bubbles, kicks, and floats.
She was a pretty good listener, especially when you realize she is the youngest kid in her class. She’s also strangely over-confident when it comes to swimming, which both baffles me and confirms that signing her up for swim lessons was the right decision. I think she just wants to be able to swim so badly that she becomes fearless. There are three kids to a teacher (although yesterday, for some reason, there were four), so while the teacher spun one kid around, the other three were supposed to sit on the steps. Annie was good at that 90% of the time. The rest of the time, she kept inching closer and closer to the deeper steps. As her parent, it was hard for me to sit there and watch her go deeper – do you holler at her to come back to the shallow steps, or let the teacher do her job? I kept my mouth shut, and sure enough, Annie inched too far and went in too deep. The water came up over her nose and she started kicking and her eyes got so wide. Of course, the teacher and the extra life guard assigned to her group yanked her up within seconds. Did it teach her a lesson? Hard to say…she didn’t do it again yesterday, but we’ll see how she does today.
Meanwhile, Mike had about 187 heart attacks.
The class yesterday ended with three kids piled onto a floating foam thing for rides around the pool. Annie thought it was seriously the best thing ever.
She cried when it was time to leave, so I think she’s going to do just fine with these lessons. Look out, 2028 Olympics!
Katrina @ They All Call Me Mom says:
I love those pictures!
And I have to say…I rolled my eyes a bit about Mike having … what was the number? 187 heart attacks? As IF Annie could ever drown with you both constantly staring at her during her swim lessons! So she goes under a couple of times!! No heart attack necessary! It’s good for them to go under every now and then because it builds awareness of the reality of the water: Yea, you DO go under…if you don’t know how to swim yet! LOL Okay, I’m just giving you a hard time. Of course I was the same way. I think all parents are. There is just that feeling of panic when you see your child sinking! It’s instinct.
Miss Annabel will be swimming in no time ~ you guys are giving her a great start! And she looks adorable on that raft with those two little guys – what a sweet picture
Jenn says:
It looks like she did GREAT yesterday & I bet she’ll do as equally well during her next session!!! WAY TO GO ANNIE!!!!!!!
Aisha says:
I would’ve had about 300 heart attacks! My daughter is 5 and I have been thinking about swimming lessons for her as well. We live on an Island so she’s no stranger to water, but just to be on the safe side I think it would be awesome. Any suggestions for what I should look for? Annie is adorable by the way, but offcourse you know that
Becca_Masters says:
Bless her!
I remember when my sister was about 6, I was 17 and I took her swimming. We were in the pool and she said “I can swim!” and I said are you sure? And she replied “yes, watch me!” and proceeded to launch herself into her swim and promptly sank!
I grabbe the back of her costume, hurled her up and checked she was ok, which she was.
She then said “I dd it wrong that time, watch me again!” and promptly did the same thing!
Eventually she got the hang of it and by the end of the session was swimming.
That memory always makes me chuckle!
Rita says:
You guys are so great for having Annie in swim lessons and good for you for holding back and letting Annie slip in!!! I know that sounds like a weird thing to congratulate you on, but I taught swim lessons from the time I was 15 till I was 26 or so and it’s great that you trusted her teacher and Annie to handle the situation. Annie obviously loves the water, which is great!! My son is almost 2 and he too is WAY too confident and wants to jump off the “tot dock” (which is a raised platform they have in the water at my pool) by himself. But I’ll take being confident and loving the water over being scared any day!
Great job, Mike and Heather, on being awesome swim parents!
KJ says:
She is too cute. I also LOVE her swimsuit… wonder if it comes in my size ha!
Lisa says:
I am a huge believer in all children having swimming lessons (I live in FL- so very important children learn as there are frequent news stories about tragic drownings- so sad!!). My daughter started at 2 in group lessons and then we did the private ones (like Annie is doing) and 3 y/o. It was amazing, she had 4 private lessons and was able to “swim” as good as a 3 y/o can. She is now 4 1/2 and is an awesome swimmer. It is hard to watch your child go under water, but thats how they learn. I actually am considering taking classes to get certified to teach kids how to swim. Annie will be swimming in no time- esp since she loves it so much!
Go Annie!!!
Stacey says:
I think it’s great you let her teacher and the lifeguard handle the situation. She’ll need to learn (assuming she isn’t home schooled) to listen to other elder/adults whether it be instructions, rules or being disciplined.
Her smile is infectious
Amy K says:
It looks like Annie is having a great time! Heather, where is that swim suit from? I have to hunt it down for my toddler – that’s just adorable.
Heather says:
Old Navy! I love it, too!
Angie says:
Heather….oh my gosh that picture entitled “kicking” where Annie’s little foot is sticking up in the air has got to be my favorite shot of her you’ve posted since I’ve been reading (2+ years). I bet it was worth Mike’s 187 heart attacks to witness that sweet moment. The part of your post that really hit home with me was how you felt as you watched Annie edge closer to the deep end of the steps and forcing yourself to sit on your hands and trust the instructor to keep her safe. As parents, we feel that no one else could possible protect our kids the way we do. And when someone else does, it’s bittersweet…because you want there to be good people in the world to watch out for our little ones when we can’t be right there, but at the same time WE want to be that person all the time. It’s a balancing act…
Auntie_M says:
187 heart attacks?!? Poor Mike! You’ll have to have a life guard assigned specifically to him! LOL
As for Annie! Wow! Good for her! Love her fearlessness & her own little lesson in listening and realizing she’s not quite a pro yet, but not being scared of the deeper water is great.
When I was about her age, I was walking along the ocean shore w/my aunt & mom and disappeared into a culvert pipe that had been buried for years & for some reason the tides had finally uncovered it. Fortunately I had long blonde curly hair and fortunately both my aunt & mom were keeping an eye on me–but if it weren’t for my hair, it wouldn’t have mattered how close they were nor how close an eye they had kept on me, I’d have been gone. They literally pulled me up by my hair while I was being sucked down into this pipe.
While I have no conscience memory of this, I swear to this day that it was this experience that gave me my fearfulness around water. I can swim. I did all the swim lessons like Annie–but I never had her joy and once I mastered swimming, I never took another lesson. My mom & aunts were all swim coaches & life guards. Not me.
I love watching little ones learn to be confident in the water! Annie’s joy just radiates out of her. And she’s smart: she’s doing more than just having fun, she’s taking it all in. We had wondered if my niece was just having fun or if she was really learning, when she was Annie’s age…then she slipped in the pool, surrounded by adults ready to pull her out, but she kicked off the bottom, wiped the hair & water out of her eyes while blowing it out of her mouth and confidently paddled her way over to the wall and pulled herself up–only to laugh and turn around and jump back in! I can see Annie doing the same thing!
Tia Leah says:
She is so adorable! The pictures you took are amazing.
Julie says:
Looks like someone is going to be a on a swim team when she’s old enough…if Mike doesn’t have that heart attack first!
LOVE the pictures!
Denise says:
This will go fast. One day she’s inching too far off the “deep step”, and the next day she will be swimming out to the deep end.
Amanda says:
She is such a little fish!