Graduation

Tonight was our last night of the Mommy and Me Swim class, and Drew graduated as a Kipper, with a certificate and all! It has been a really fun experience that allowed Drew and I to bond in the water each week, and gave him more confidence than he already had (though this is a little scary!) We plan to do it again in the Spring, when Drew is about 15 months old. He was the youngest in his class, but made great progress over the seven weeks that we participated. He learned to float using devices, such as a noodle-he knows how to hang on, and I can actually let go of him! He also learned to jump off of the side into my (or any adult's) arms, from a sitting position, and to float on his back with me only supporting his elbows. As he gets older, the goals will be for him to float on his back, completely on his own,  to dog-paddle, and to eventually swim under water. One of the exercises for tonight was to actually drop him off of the diving board, with the swim instructor in the water to make sure his head didn't go under. Unfortunately, this was not to his favor! He let us know, afterward, just how mad he was, and clawed my skin, afraid that we were going to do it again. However, this is part of letting them see what it would feel like to fall from a greater height, and he did forgive us...eventually. About fifteen minutes later he went right back to his regular swim exercises, laughing and smiling all the while. He even hugged the instructor, which was good since she was feeling QUITE guilty! Here are the pics of Drew with his certificate (smirking), and a few random ones before and after he had his shower.