I signed the kids up for three rounds of swim lessons this summer. They already finished one round and we're about to finish up the second round. This time it's every morning for two weeks. Sadly, Isaiah passed Level 1 last time so they have to be in separate, consecutive classes. Passing Level 1 isn't sad I guess, just the fact that they can't swim at the same time. Fortunately there's a playground by the pool for the non-swimmer to play on.
A friend of mine brought over a bunch of old swimsuits for Eliza. I like to have her in a two-piece since she's still potty-training (removing a wet swimsuit takes more time than Eliza's potty warning system provides; putting it back on takes more time than my patience allows). I've had a terrible time finding ones that fit--the bottoms are all too big. I think they are made big to allow for swim diapers. But once you take the diapers off you have a little flasher on your hands. I finally found success by putting on a super old suit that I had already packed up (not pictured here); it's a 12-month size and fits perfectly!
Eliza hadn't been making a whole lot of progress. She does fine except for the part where you get wet. Which is the whole part. But a couple of days ago she decided she wants to be in Level 2 with Isaiah, so she is being a lot braver now about putting her face in the water.
This time their lessons are in an outdoor pool. It's been mostly fine, except for a couple of rainy days. I had to suppress a smile when one of the other moms told me she thought they should have a cover over the pool so that on the rainy days the kids won't get wet...
Isaiah found a great big (probably 6' long) stick to play with. There's another boy there everyday waiting for class too and he found an equally long one. His mom and I decided that since they were equally armed it was just fine. Later on another mom told her kid to put down her stick because "WE don't play with dangerous things like sticks." with a glare in my direction. I think I was supposed to ask Isaiah to put his down, but I don't usually respond to passive-aggressive comments like that. If you want to ask me to please have my son put his stick down because it's making you nervous, then by all means I will. If you want to talk to me through your child in a condescending way, then by all means I won't. Honestly, both kids were just playing--they weren't using them as weapons and they were staying clear of the other kids on the playground. Whatever.
Later that morning, Eliza was sitting waiting in the rain wearing shorts & a short-sleeve shirt. When she got dressed I showed her that it was raining outside and suggested she would be cold if she didn't change into something warmer. She decided not to change, so I let her be cold. Another mom asked if she was mine and when I said yes she said "Don't you want to cover her up? She looks so cold!" and I said, "No, she's fine." I could probably just drop my kids off at the park by themselves; there are plenty of people out there happy to parent them for me. It happened with Eliza at another park recently--she was climbing up pretty high and another dad lunged toward her, ready to catch her, and then looked over at me (I was watching from the bench) so I sauntered over "I thought she might fall," he said. "Yes, she might." I said, and returned to the bench. I'm sure people think I'm a crazy neglectful mother, but seriously, kids have to learn consequences and I'd rather they learn them on a super safety proof padded playground while they're little.
