Swim Lessons!

 What would summer be without swim lessons?!

Last year, Keira did a Mommy & Me swim class, but now, as a big 3-year-old, it was time for her to swim with the teacher while Mommy watched from the side of the pool!

We took our first round of lessons with Ella.

The girls are so stylin' in their summer shades!

They were so excited to take swim lessons together...that is, until they actually got in the pool without their Mommies!

Keira had a rough couple of days getting adjusted to having Mommy watch from the side, but by the 3rd day, she was able to get through her whole lesson without crying.  And by the end of the session (7 days), she was having fun!

This is the vantage point I started from. Eventually, I was able to move back and sit on the bench and cheer her on with "thumbs up" for doing such a great job!

Teacher Tess was very kind and patient

 Crab-walking, then getting out of the pool to jump in--a favorite skill to practice!

After all that hard work, the girls got to relax in the kids' spa each day after their lesson was over.

One time, the girls got to play a short round of mini-golf on the green right next to the pool area!

Maybe a hole in one?!

Gaining courage and jumping in!

Ahhhhhhhhh....

Listening to Teacher Tess

On the last day of session 1, Daddy got to come watch the lesson and he took these pictures!

Thanks, Daddy!

By this point, Keira was quite fond of Miss Tess and loved doing all the skills with her!

Swimming is fun!

Learning to float

Hi, Daddy!

This was quite an improvement from the first day when kids were splashing water NEAR her and it made her cry. At swimming lessons, we learned it is okay to get wet while swimming!!

At the end of the session, Keira got a certificate that said she passed the skills necessary for Grunion I and she could move up to Grunion II!

Did I mention she also got Gummy Bears as a special treat?!

Our little fish!

Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you!

After this initial session, we took one more session of lessons (I didn't get any pictures, just a few videos). The second time around, Keira had a different teacher, Miss Zana.  The skill set that was taught was more challenging and Miss Zana's personality was pretty intense (which made it hard for Keira to warm up to her). Keira was definitely challenged, but she made it through the 2 weeks of lessons and is now able to go all the way under water by herself, float on her back with minimal assistance, and overall have a fun time in the water!!!