As I said in the last post, these are a bit out of order. These were taken on Memorial Day...which was Miles first time swimming! I can't tell you how excited I was for this day. Shortly after I found out I was pregnant I began counting down the days until I could take my little one swimming and feel his slippery chubby little body. Swimming played a big part of my adolescence. My mom started me off swimming as a little baby taking the "guppy" (mommy and me) class at the YMCA. I remember my first outdoor swimming lesson a few years later. All the kids had to strap a white Styrofoam bubble onto their back. I didn't want to, but I did it anyway. It took the teacher a few short minutes to realize I was way beyond my class and I moved over to the deep end for class with the big kids. Shortly thereafter came my first shot at swim team. I was a decent swimmer but stroke technique at that time was not my strongest area. I would stand on the diving block, jump in, and freestyle my way to the other side of the pool holding my face out of the water.My first swim coach, Chip, would be standing at the other end yelling...put your face in! He was always telling me I would go so much faster if I would just put my face in. Eventually I did, and he was right. I loved swim team. I have such vivid memories of getting up early, the smell of the pool, thinking Chip was a crazy man for suggesting we get in the water when it felt like it was 40 degrees out. I stayed on swim team for quite some time. I never became a super star but I felt like I was decent for someone who only swam competitively in the summer time. Later I became a lifeguard, coached a swim team, and became the teacher of the YMCA guppy class. Full Circle. I don't think I'll ever love a job as much as I loved that one, and if I ever win the lottery or become lucky enough to be a stay at home mom, I will be teaching swim lessons once again. For the time being I get to reenact my glory days with the help of my son. hehehe...poor guy. Here are the pictures of his first go at it:
Auntie Stacy was on my tail every second of having Miles in the pool. I literally could feel her breathing down my neck. She was driving me crazy, but Miles, if you ever read this you should know that your Auntie Stacy is crazy about you. Annoyingly crazy about you.
Learning to blow bubbles...with Auntie Stacy still stalking.
Learning to float. I could not believe he allowed this. MY baby is the best swimmer.
Miles and Gramp taking a dip.
Miles and cousin Nicole playing with his Blue Angels Duck.
Miles was a popular guy at the pool. Here is his with grammie telling him secrets.
Wardrobe change. I was so afraid he would burn or get too cold so I bought him this fancy head to toe swimsuit. It was a pain in the rear to get him out of it.
It was crazy how much time he spent in the pool that day. At one point when he was with my dad he actually fell asleep floating around! I love it. Now he "jumps" in and gets his face wet too. We are working on blowing bubbles, that can be tricky. I've been using mostly my old methods to teach him but I found a lot of interesting information about infant survival swimming here: http://www.uswim.com/conditioning. I haven't had time to fully explore this site but I was impressed with what I've seen so far. Until next time, Lots of Love!
