The Diving Board? Are you sure?

We just finished up our second two-week session of swimming lessons. It has been so nice to be at the pool everyday and cool off in the water. Amelia picked up swimming so quickly and by the end of the first week, she was begging me to let her go off the diving board. Considering that she had never been in water where she couldn't touch (without assistance), I was a little reluctant. She was so excited to do it and I realized that she had no idea that it was something to even be afraid of and I didn't want my fears to stop her. So we started in the 5-foot deep area so I could see what would happen...I wasn't even sure if she could tread water. She had no problem and after about ten minutes of jumping in, she said "Mom, can I PLEASE go to the diving board now?" So off we went, Amelia with all the confidence in the world, and me still reluctant. After all, it was 11 feet deep! Could she make it over to the side after she jumped? But SHE DID IT!! Of course she did it. And she did it again and again and again. I'm so proud of her and amazed at how far she came in just a few short weeks.






(Amelia's jumping form also improved...she started by always landing a painful face-first. I think she was trying to land in a swimming-ready position. But she finally figured out that feet first was best.)











One of her first jumps:



By the last day, she was able to jump off and then swim all the way to the ladder. Earlier on, she had been swimming straight over to the side, and then going down to the ladder.









Elsa slowly grew tired of the pool as the days went on...she wanted to be independent in the water, but since she can't swim and the water came up to her chin (she had no interest in the baby pool), this was difficult. She was happy to spend all of her time playing on the stairs leading down into the water, seeing how far she could go before going under. And yelling at me if I came too close.

We took the girls to the Water Mine Waterpark this afternoon and they had an amazing time. It was fun to watch Amelia be so independent in the water and Elsa was so happy going down the slides over and over and over. We all enjoyed countless laps around the lazy river. I'm sad to see the pool days of summer coming to an end.