Friday, August 29, 2008

I Try Da Divin' Board, Now

This is the second to last weekend for the outdoor pool and it was a great day. The sun was shining and the water was refreshing but not too cold. We had a great time with Ian who alternated between his favorite activities of going down the slide, jumping off the side of the pool and throwing the ball in the pool. He even experimented on his back in the baby pool during a break from the big pool. We did have a crying incident because the concrete was hot and the metal drain covers were even hotter. He stepped on the metal cover and screamed in pain. He didn't know what to do so he just stood there crying. I was in the pool and said,"Come here! Come here!" So he ran to me and we got his feet cooled down. He needed a break after that and his friend from Gymnastics was there in the baby pool so we hung out for a bit before heading back in.

Every time we go to the pool he says,"I try da divin' board, now." Today, we decided to let him. The first two times I jumped in with him, but the third time he insisted,"I do it myself!" So, I went up with him, but let him jump off by himself. I jumped in right after him and then pushed him up to the surface. The water is 10.5 feet deep so it was quite a workout to swim to the side with him. Curt was in the pool just in case I needed help and there was a life guard watching over the diving board area as well so we were covered. Ian wanted to swim to the side by himself, but he just doesn't swim well enough for that, yet. In the shallower part of the floor, where Curt and I can touch, we hold him on his belly and let him kick his legs to the side. But in the deep water, I had to tow him on his back, which he did not like. It didn't stop him from wanting to go back off the diving board, though. We hope tomorrow is nice as well so we can have another pool day!

3 comments:

Connie said...

What a brave boy! I love his attitude. :-)

Don't be surprised if he is scared of the whole pool next year. Around 3yo, they develop enough feel for the world around them to know that they are no longer the immortal toddlers they once were! Brian was fine with water, Honor had to be coaxed back. Odd, because she is usually the 'no fear, I'll try anything once' child while Brian does not like new things. But when Honor balks, she really puts her feet down.

Mama Seoul said...

We went again today and Curt got him doing it on video. I am going to post it later if the the uploading cooperates. I hope he doesn't become afraid, I guess we will try to keep going to the indoor pool during the fall and winter to give him continuous exposure.

Connie said...

He'll get past it again if he does. Honor did. It's just an interesting growth phase. One silly aspect of Honor's was camels. She LOVED camels from 18mo to almost 3yo - I wasn't too thrilled to have my baby WAY up on camel back, but she loved it. Then from 3-4yo she wanted nothing to do with them - they were very scary and big! Now she is comfortable with them again. I guess at 3 she was mature enough to realize the danger that she was oblivious to before! Then, she gained the maturity to be confident and secure. I love watching the kids change as they grow :-)