Swimming Lessons 2014

The kiddos did swimming lessons a few weeks ago.  And, when I say "the kiddos," I mean all the kiddos--including Vivienne!  It was the first year I've ever been able to sit on the sidelines and relax, rather than chasing after a toddler.  Yay!! We did lessons at the Legacy Center again, and Ashlee's kids did lessons there too.  In fact, Aiden and Gavin were in a class together, and Vivvie and Ella were together too.  That made it really fun for the kids.  All of them had a great year.  I only took a few pictures because--well, I was enjoying the relaxing that I've never been able to do before.  But, here are a few that I took.  You'll probably notice that the kids have life jackets on in several of the pictures I took.  Apparently, it was "life jacket safety day" for a lot of the classes on the day I decided to get off my butt and actually take some pictures.

Connor was in Level 5 this year.  I can't believe what a great swimmer he's becoming!  He can do all the strokes for 50 yards or farther.  It's awesome!  He passed off Level 5 and will move on to Level 6 (the final level) next year...

Aiden was in Level 3 this year.  He did a great job learning and working on all the different strokes.  He is becoming a great swimmer as well.  He was able to pass Level 3 and will move on to Level 4 next year...

Cohen did Preschool Level 3 this year.  He learned how to swim short distances unassisted and continued to get more comfortable in the water.  He did great, and was able to pass off his level as well.  He will move on to Level 1 (which comes after all the preschool levels) next year...

Viv was in Preschool Level 1 this year.  This level is all about playing in shallow water to get the kids comfortable in it.  I was worried that Vivienne wouldn't even go to class.  She can be kind of a diva, in case you didn't know, and if she decides she doesn't want to do something or is scared to do something, no amount of coaxing, bribing or forcing will get her to do it.  So, when she happily marched into the pool on her first day, I was extremely surprised and happy!  I'm sure it helped that she had Ella with her.  Vivvie loves Ella and wants to be just like her, so when Ella took her hand and lend her into the water, Viv just followed!!  It was awesome.  Viv really enjoyed her lessons--except when they were doing anything that involved putting her face in the water.  She hates getting her face wet!  She's been this way since she was born.  She doesn't even like getting her face washed with a washcloth.  Well, half the things the kids needed to pass off in order to move up to the next level involved sticking their faces in the water (blowing bubbles, bobs, etc.)  So, she didn't pass and will be repeating Preschool Level 1 next year.  But, that's okay.  I just consider the fact that she happily went to her lesson as a huge success!  Baby steps, baby steps...

So, that was our swimming lessons session of the summer.  I consider it a huge success.  All the kids were sad to see it come to an end and can't wait until next year.  I can't either!  I actually looked forward to swimming lessons each day, now that I'm not chasing toddlers around anymore.  --Lindsay