T can swim!

Well to say that learning to swim has been more of a challenge with Taylor than sleeping thru the night, potty training, or just about anything else is completely accurate! He - and thusly, dan and I - have really struggled with it. He took lessons as a baby and while they were fun, they were worthless bc we did not continue them. Then when we got the house with the pool in TX, he was in it a lot and seemed okay with the water though he was not officially "swimming."  Then last year when we moved to FL, he started acting more tentative about the water.  But we live in FLORIDA and he HAS to know how to swim...for safety more than anything.  So in May, I had him enrolled in one of the "best" swim lessons in town with another friend of his.  Well it turns out the teacher at this swim school is FIERCE.  Yelling, barking, throwing the kids in the water, no softness at all.  She DOES get results but her style was really not working for Taylor.  He would do everything she asked but big silent tears would be falling the whole time.  At the end of one week, we decided to take a break til July. Apparently he has been stressing about it all along...to the point of breaking down to his school teacher last week in sobs, begging her to tell his mommy that he already knows how to swim and does not have to go back to swim lessons.  He was apparently really traumatized. So I made a deal with him....no more lessons this summer IF he could go to the pool with me this weekend and show me he can swim enough to be safe. And he did so great!  The video below was just the tip of the iceberg...after jumping in and swimmimg back to the side repeatedly, he just started swimming around - both shallow and deep ends - all by himself.  I felt soooooo proud of my boy for overcoming his fear and doing what needed to be done!!  I feel so much better about his safety around water now.  huge relief for mama.

T and his buddy Charlie, enjoying a popsicle break at the pool.

Saturday morning, we went to the park with a bunch of other friends to say goodbye to Brandon and his sweet family....they are moving to Kansas this week and we are going to miss them!