I am happy to report Christian is doing GREAT with his weekly swimming lessons!
I am with Scarlett in the lane next to Christian's lane, and so I get occasional glimpses of him during his class. He's such a little chatter box for most of the 1/2 hour, and he's always asking for a "high five," and his teacher is so nice to oblige him.
We had a bit of a hiccup last week, when Jonathan sat in the pool area (rather than the separate observatio area). I looked over at Christian to see he was sitting on the edge of the pool crying, and looking right at Jonathan. The attention I gave Christian didn't help the situation (I'm his Mommy and I'm RIGHT there ... I can't just ignore him when he's upset). We figure he was reminded that he's outside his comfort zone and was overcome with emotion. So this week, Jonathan stayed in the observation area, and Christian was fine.
Below are pictures from his very first lesson. The staff there is soooo very nice and patient. In the first picture, he hadn't even tried the water yet, but she coaxed him. He picked out a "torpedo" from the toys and each lesson, he has it in his had for at least some of the class.
There are no more than four kiddos per class. The instructor takes one kiddo out at a time while the others wait at the wall.
Below, Christian has something important to say (notice the index finger - ha ha!)
Christian has been going underwater, with his teacher's assistance of course. We think he might be going to the bottom to retrieve a toy. We ask him and he says, "Yes." But we can't tell if he really is, or if they are building up to it.
I was especially proud of him this week. In the next pool over, they have a "frog slide" that the kids can go down after class. We've been trying to convince him to go down the slide since day one, but he's always declined.
Last week, I went down the slide myself to show him it was okay. Even then, he still declined.
This week, when he was offered a chance to go down, he hesitantly agreed. I assured him I'd be waiting down at the bottom of the slide to catch him. He got to the top, and sat down and I knew he was scared. I smiled my biggest smile and held my arms out, and he got the courage to come down. I think he went faster than he expected and he had a look of terror on his face. But I caught him, and praised him like crazy.
I asked if he wanted to try again ... and he surpirsed me when he said yes. So, he did it again ... a bit more quickly this time. Same look of terror, but the look was brief. He slid down, and had a blast! :)
