James is a Puppy!

James loves water!  Ever since he was born he loved spending time in the shower and the bathtub.  It was one of our summer goals to spend the summer working on swimming so James would feel safe in the water and Mommy could spend a little less time having panic attacks since we live close to a pool.  The first time we were in the water (earlier post) it was FREEZING so this time we made sure it was nice and warm.

James was hesitant at first and had no interest in swimming.  He was fine with the water, and he didn't mind floating around and long as I was hugging him tight, but he wasn't interested in learning how to swim.  Matt isn't a huge swimmer, so he was sitting on the edge of the pool. We tried to get James to hold on to the side of the pool in front of Daddy and float on his own, but James wanted nothing to do with it!

After a little bit we realized that James had no intention of swimming unless his Daddy got in the water to prove that it was safe.  We have recently entered into a "scared" phase, and if his Daddy and Mommy won't both do something it must be scary!  Daddy earned himself a million brownie points by jumping into the water to join us!  Did I mention that Matt really hates to swim? 

Once Daddy got into the water James was very willing to swim around.  And, we hit a milestone... James learned to "doggy paddle!"  Daddy and I stood about four feet apart from one another.  We would push James out and he would "doggy paddle" between the two of us.  He would even lift his head in and out of the water when he needed to breathe.  His favorite part was that he learned to splash his Mommy and Daddy!  

We had lots of fun swimming together as a family and we wore our self out!  It was home for bath time, dinner and bedtime. We can't wait to see what next weekend brings!