first day of swimming

today was the first day of swimming lessons for both jj and ellie. this will be ellie's first year with solo lessons and jj just last weekend learned to swim without floaties. they both were very excited about lessons today.

june gloom has been lingering in our area for quite some time now and will finally leave later in the week. this morning we had mist and very overcast weather. i was a little worried that the kids wouldnt want to get in the water because it would be too cold. i thought, oh well, i guess i will just play it by ear and see how it goes.

i put their rashguards on to give them a little more warmth in the water and surprisingly, they didnt put up a fight at all. they were soooo excited to be in the water, they forgot how cold it was until they got out.

since jj "knows how to swim" he would proclaim it to his instructor at every chance he got. he would say, "i can swim" every time he would look at him. jj did well on the kickboard and moving his arms the proper way. they let them jump in off the diving platforms during the last 5 minutes. he didnt even hesitate. i think this year will be his most productive one yet.

in ellie's group, there were only 3 kids and they have a platform to stand on in the pool so they dont have to hold on to the side the entire time. the instructor, miss sarah, was very sweet and quickly realized ellie was the most scared of the water of the group. when she would take ellie out to the open water, ellie had a death grip around her neck.

ellie was completely annoyed that the other kids in her group were all boys. they were less apprehensive than ellie was so she always had one hand on the wall (even though there was a huge platform to stand on). she would occassionally let go with both hands and just stand and then a boy would accidentally nudge her. she would freak out and lunge toward the wall and then proceed to tattletell.

"teacher, teacher!!!!"

"he almost made me fall!!!"

another time, i heard miss sarah tell ellie "let me see you blow bubbles" (very nicely by the way).

ellie responds "i ALREADY blow bubbles". miss sarah says, "can i see them again?" ellie thinks for awhile and then agrees to blow bubbles again.

i am hoping that as the weather gets better, their swimming skills will also.

before tball season ended we ordered some action shots of jj playing. we decided to get a poster with all the best pictures of him. i had to take pictures of the poster. they were adorable.

here is a closeup of the action photos. for the longest time, none of the parents knew which kid the far right picture was of. i looked at his glove and knew right away it was jj. the photographer told me that he has another picture like that... but it was of a coach. whenever i see these they make me smile, even laugh. he is just too darn cute.