Swimming

We have been living in the pool which is my Summertime dream.  Sometimes Connor just randomly comes down stairs in his bathing suit.  You know, in case the opportunity arises to swim.  He wants to be ready.  He has been teaching himself to swim and he's doing awesome!! 

When we started the summer he would touch his face to the water and then spit and sputter for five minutes as he cleared every last drop from his face.  Then he got more confident about putting his whole face in the water.  He would also motor around the pool in the middle of a blow up ring.  He could go anywhere in that thing. 

Then one time we were up there and there were some older boys playing catch across the whole length of the pool.  He wanted to play and they were letting him catch and throw the ball every few throws.  But he couldn't really do it with his ring on.  So he took it off.

He is tall enough to touch the bottom in the shallow end so he hopped around over there playing catch with the big boys.  It was great.  He got some confidence being in the pool without his tube on. 

He practiced this new skill for a while and decided he liked being without his tube.  Awesome.  In fact, he doesn't even bring it to the pool anymore.  He got more and more confident in the pool and was putting his face in the water (which he calls diving) a lot better but still wouldn't go under all the way.

Then my niece and nephew came over.  My niece is one.  She goes under... all the way.  There was no way on Earth that Connor was going to let a one year baby girl show him up.  So under he went. 

Awww... yeah.

Now he does "cannonballs", which means sliding in from the side on his butt as slow as steady as possible and then while holding on to the side of the pool goes under the water.  A Connor Cannonball. 

He will also hold on to the side with both hands, put his face in the water, and kick.  Gosh that is as close to swimming as a human can get!

In the kidde pool he will stand in the middle and glide himself the 3 feed over to the side.  Which again, is almost actual swimming.  He's so close I can taste it!  I keep waiting for the moment he decides he's going for it. 

One thing he will NOT do is let me touch him.  He freaks if I even act like I'm going to touch him in the pool.  "No Mommy NOO!!"  Gosh, I mean seriously.  What am I going to do? 

But anyways, my goal was to have that boy swimming by the end of summer.  I think we are in good shape!