Thursday, July 16, 2009

The Next Michael Phelps...


Well, maybe not quite Michael Phelps...but swimming lessons have been a major confidence booster for Benjamin. Actually, both gymnastics and swimming have shown us a very confident little boy in our Benjamin Bunny.
Every time I try to sneak into the gym area at gymnastics and take a picture, Benjamin stops whatever he's doing and starts waving at me! But yesterday from the parents' observation room, I had a great view of him swinging on the "Tarzan" rope and dropping into the foam pit all on his own! He also loves to show us all of his new gymnastics moves at home. He does forward rolls, log rolls and his favorite, "helicopters" (which at gymnastics are done on the trampoline, but here at home, the mattress from the disassembled crib really does the job-- sounds super safe, huh?).
But, I did manage to sneak into the pool and grab some photos and videos of swim lessons. Although when I was standing there, he wouldn't jump in on his own, his swim teacher told me that he did it several times on his own in the last couple of days! So excited for him. He has also conquered swimming to the bottom to capture the diving rings. We went a different way than we originally planned with the swimming lesson thing. In Belton, the UMHB campus (this is a college for those not from this area), offers one-on-one swimming lessons all summer long. What a perfect fit for Benjamin. And now, he has a cool college friend named Jordan who we think is an AWESOME swim teacher for Benjamin. These two really get each other and Benjamin adores him. Every morning he wakes up and asks if he gets to go swim with Jordan. 
Although the daily grind is a little wild (I feel like I am carting around a teenager with all the activities he has these two weeks), it is well worth it. 
Here are a couple of short videos from his swimming lessons. I am hoping to catch him jumping in without holding Jordan's hands in the next week. For some reason, he won't do that when I am around! He must just be modest of his swimming talents when mom is around!





4 comments:

Melissa said...

YAY Benjamin! He will have to show Emily his gymnastics tricks. She has been working hard to conquer her fear of the forward roll.

Shannon said...

Mallory had Jordan during her swim lessons, too!! We might need to do the one on one lessons next year.

It's been fun seeing you on Thursdays! I'm getting spoiled this summer. Hopefully there is room in the fall for Mallory:)

David Dominguez said...

Way to go, Big Guy! Keep it up!

Amanda said...

Way to go Benjamin! I'm so proud of him! Isn't it great to see your kids really learn things and become proud of themselves?