My Little Fish and Mermaid

Since Peyton was about six months old we have put her in swim lessons. At first it was for a fun activity for us to do together and then when I realized she had no fear of water it was for safety issues and now it is because she LOVES swimming! She has so much joy when she swims and seriously smiles while under the water and as a parent it brings me so much joy to watch her do something she loves and see her progress in it! 

Practicing her backstroke starts!

Peyton decided at some point this spring that her current goal for swimming is to make swim team this fall. She would see the kids going up there for practice and would ask about it and then one day told me that she wanted to be on swim team. She asked her teacher how she gets on swim team and decided that she was going to work to make it. So determined! The tryouts are September 5 and she has to swim one length free style and one length backstroke to make the team for her age group. She has been very determined and has worked really hard in her lessons to get ready. I am so proud of her and it has been great to see her set her mind on something and work for it. And at the end of lessons at the end of June she was able to do both!! Such a proud mommy moment!! 

Waiting with her friends to swim

Unfortunately lessons are not running in July which means it is up to John and I to take her to the pool to keep practicing which is super hard since I am the one who should be taking her with my swimming background and because I am the one who attends her lessons and knows what she should be working on but I am also the one attached to a newborn! But John has been taking her and since Peyton is so determined she has been working on things on her own and at least is getting some swimming in. I have her signed up for a two week group swim lesson in Washington and then also am in the process of setting up some private lessons the other weeks we are there. Then when we come home she has a swim clinic the week before tryouts to help refresh her on things. We really wanted to make sure that we were supporting her as much as possible and setting her up for success at making swim team!

Here is a video of her doing her free style for the first time the whole length of the pool, this was before I had Shiloh so she has progressed tremendously much since then and has gotten more confident and stronger! I don't have a backstroke video :( but that has actually been the easiest for her and was able to do that at the end of the fall swim season. 

I really hope she makes swim team mostly because I want her to achieve the goal she has set for herself. I remember ready an article awhile ago (before my kids were in any activities) about supporting our kids and not being another coach/critic in their lives but a cheerleader and watching Peyton go through this and how hard she is already on herself I really see the importance of being her cheerleader and supporter. I always make sure to ask if she had fun, or tell her to go have fun while swimming or that I love watching her swim because she looks like she is so happy. 

Graham also is a water baby and just loves to go to swim lessons. He has been taking them since he was a year old and although is a little more tentative than Peyton he has no fear in comparison to other kids his age. This season he was in a class without mommy and grew so much in his swimming! He can do streamline and kick off the wall a good distance and then kick back all by himself. He can kick using a noodle or kick board the whole length of the pool and is starting to learn how to move his arms. I don't think he will be our swimmer like Peyton but knowing he can swim and can either flip over on his back and kick to the wall or on his front and save himself is huge. Swimming is such an important skill to have especially living around so much water here!

We are so thankful for the instructors we have here and how much time and love they pour into our kids swimming development. It will be an interesting fall with hopefully Peyton being busy with swim team and swim meets, Graham still doing the swim lesson program and me possibly doing the mommy and me swim lessons with Shiloh!