Swimming lessons
Today we celebrate an important milestone in our lives: as of today Calvin has been out longer than he has been in (think about it - you'll understand). Actually, it's more of a realization than it is a celebration, really. In fact, today would have been just like any other day if we hadn't already had something really cool scheduled: swim lessons! 
For Calvin, that is. We've been wanting to do this for a long time and were excited from the minute we woke up this morning. Unfortunately the class time really bites into Calvin's morning nap time, and that meant that we had to get him up after only 30 minutes of sleep (instead of his normal 2 hours) to put him in the car and head to the pool. The shortened nap time probably contributed to the wariness he exhibited as he and his mom headed into the water. 
We were just sure that he would love swimming because he loves his bath so much, but the first five minutes were actually pretty iffy. As Cortney held him, swaying him with the water up to his chest the way the instructor showed, we were a little concerned to see him begin to pout with a very concerned look on his face. The other six babies seemed to be loving it! Only Calvin had some reservations. But after we spent a few minutes of "close circle time" where the babies toes were all touching, he really seemed to get into it. 
In true Calvin fashion he refused to crack a smile during most of the half hour class, but we have come to accept that our child takes discovery quite seriously, and the fact that he spent nearly his entire time in the pool with a stern look of steady concentration glued on his face doesn't mean that he didn't have fun. On the contrary, it means that he was so excited about what he was doing and learning that he just couldn't take time out to smile! 
That's our Calvin. And in the last ten minutes, while playing with a floating octopus, he finally got comfortable enough to start kicking and splashing the way he does almost nightly in his bath water. Strangely enough, it was about this time that all the other babies had lost their patience with the event and started whining or crying. Calvin, however, was just warming up, and he even cracked a smile for us during the "up and down" activity at the very end. Survey says? Success. We can't wait for next week when daddy takes his turn in the water! And, of course, there are lots more pictures in the Calvin's 38th week photo album.
activities, milestones, parenting
Reader Comments (1)
Lookin' good, Mama! (Baby's not to bad-looking, either.)