Tiny Tunas Part 2

We made it through the two weeks of swim lessons last Friday. It was such a great experience for the boys. We're really glad we did it.

I found a really cute pattern for beach robes on the "Made" website. I was hoping to get them done before the first lesson, but I didn't finish them until the night before the second lesson. I think they are really cute, but the boys are too cool for them. Oh well. I enjoyed sewing the robes and liked the chance to try some new techniques, so I'm still glad I made them. Plus, I did make them bigger so I think they could still wear them another year or two. I am still working on one for Eva, so hopefully she'll want to wear it more than 10 seconds. The pattern calls for using towels, so I picked out some bright ones from Target and easily found matching piping:

I lined the hoods with this cute flannel with fish:

Aiden helping me sew:

While Reid helped me push the pedal:

They were more than willing to try on the hoods:

I managed to talk Aiden into trying his on:

If I remember correctly, I think Reid took this picture:

My guys:

Aiden working on his front float:

Reid's back float:

Aiden's back float:

Slide time. Aiden loved the slide, but after the first couple of days Reid would climb up to the top just to tell Miss Tori that he was too scared to go down the slide:

I like the big kick boards they used:

We started giving Reid a thumbs-up from the side which he quickly adopted:

Aiden back floating with a smile from Reid;

Smooch time:

Rest time:

Thumbs up time: (Aiden holds up his index finger)

Joe Cool's got it down:

I liked this image with the boys' silhouettes:

Cheese!

On Thursday of the first week, Aiden decided he didn't want to swim that day. I had him hang out by the side of the pool hoping he would change his mind:

He did let Miss Tori take him out for a front float, but that was it:

Reid seemed to love every minute of swim lessons and was willing to jump right in:

After Thursday, Aiden told me he didn't want to swim because he was cold. So, on Friday before lessons, we stopped at Kohl's to buy a couple of swim shirts. (And visit the restroom seven times. Ah, the early days of potty training. Happy to report we have come so far in the last few weeks.)

No luck- Aiden mainly hung out with me:

And reluctantly did a little back floating, but he was not happy:

Talked them both into wearing the beach robes so I could at least get a picture. Aiden in his Superman pajamas and Reid in his "Baseball Batman" pajamas, as he likes to call them:

Week 2
The boys asked about Miss Tori quite a few times over the weekend. They wanted to know why we weren't going to lessons. I told them Miss Tori needed a break after working hard all week. Why? Because she taught all week. And she's tired? Yep. Where is she? At her house. Why? Because she needs a break. Why? Why? Why? (Can you tell we answer 500 questions a day?)

Monday started off with safety day. Luckily that was just the hook we needed to get Aiden back in the water:

All four of the boys wore life jackets:

Then Miss Tori had them hold hands in a circle and they floated out to deeper water. It was funny watching them because they were having a hard time holding their heads up while not tipping backwards. It reminded me of the boys when we first sat them in their Bumbo seats when they were babies.

When they were doing their back floats, Miss Tori would ask them what they saw on the ceiling. Aiden has quite the imagination, so he would talk about dragons and monsters, etc.

Eric was back in town in time for Tuesday's lesson:

Playing on the playset after lessons:

Chatfield is across the ridge on the other side of the golf course:

Wednesday:

The boys had to keep their eyes closed while she tossed the rings out. Reid liked to sneak a peak the first few lessons, but toward the end he was pretty good about keeping his eyes closed:

Here they were comparing notes about getting water up their noses when they were practicing bobbing under water:

Reid bobbing:

Aiden bobbing:

Smooch:

Watching the bigger kids play basketball after lessons:

On Thursday, the boys had a substitute teacher because Miss Tori had to go to a funeral:

Kicking time:

Since this was the first teacher we've ever had, I went into Pinterest Mom mode. After the first lesson, I started pinning ideas for presents to give to Miss Tori at the end. She was so impressive from the very first day and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to give positive feedback to a great teacher.

The card:

    

    

Little plastic buckets with Swedish fish and Cookies and Creme Kisses. I found the idea on this website.

Friday, July 12th; Last day of lessons and both boys did a great job the entire time. I think they really missed Miss Tori the day before, so they were more than willing to participate:

Aiden's sharks usually turned into cars:

Learning how to do swim strokes. This was pretty hilarious to watch because I don't think they've ever seen anyone swim before:

Walking over to a ledge to practice jumping in:

Giving Miss Tori a hug after giving her her presents. She was so surprised and pleased by them. The boys made a lot of progress and will probably repeat Tiny Tunas to shore up their skills before moving on. We were lucky to have such a great experience and hope to sign the boys up for some more lessons during the school year.