All that time in the pool at Kelly's really helped Jalen gain confidence! Today, we went with John and Mary to a local pool and they wouldn't let any floating devices in the pool. Jalen was bummed out (we had stopped on the way to pick up some new arm floaties for him) but decided to get in anyway.
He jumped in and started paddling just like he did with the floaties! NO problem. Then he got the new face mask on and really took off. He was swimming underwater, touching the bottom, swimming fairly good lengths to me and basically acting like he'd been swimming for months. It was so cool.
If you give a kids some floaties and a pool, he's going to want some goggles to go with it..............:)
He cheered for himself the whole time; "I'm powerful" he said, and "I'm so proud of myself!" I agreed and said "It's really cool that you learned how to swim all on your own Jalen" So much for floaties being a bad idea!!
He's watching his favorite movie of all time now, "The Nightmare Before Christmas", very quietly. Afternoons are always very calm and quiet after he swims. Sierra and the boys are all downstairs playing various video games and discussing the finer points of W.O.W. It's terribly quiet, I may get some organizing done.
When you're in the middle of baby and toddler years, it's hard to imagine ever having time for yourself again. But it comes faster than you think. I'm enjoying my newfound freedom. My last baby learned to swim this week. Another milestone, another move away from his toddlerhood, another skill he learned by simply being given access to the world.
