today adam had his very first swimming lesson. and, as i suspected it might, it started off quite rough. sometimes when adam is new to something, he takes awhile to warm up to it. he cried the first time he was in grass, the first time we put him in snow, etc. and, you guessed it, the pool is no different. last summer he HATED the pool and the ocean (did i really make this baby!?) so my hope was that swimming lessons would help him warm up to the water.

i talked about swimming in the water ALL weekend, hoping that might help him prepare mentally. but no. when we arrived, he cried from the moment we walked into the rec center. he wrapped his little arms and legs around me and wouldn't let go. though i have to admit i was slightly embarrassed by his impending nervous breakdown, i powered through, wading in the baby pool and trying to acclimate him to the water.

at the start of the class he was still crying, so we missed the very first song and circle with the other kiddos and parents. but then the teacher brought out some balls-- and BINGO. adam chilled out. he threw the ball in the pool and let me hold him on his belly so he could "swim" over to get the ball. we did the hokey pokey in the circle with the other kids. and..... unbelievably.... he "jumped" in from the edge of the pool to me, first from seated, then from standing.

(the funniest thing is that he is just learning to step down on stairs holding my hand, instead of sliding down steps on his belly. so when it was time to "jump" in the pool from the edge. he held my hands and literally stepped down into the water. i was laughing so hard because it was hilarious to watch, but that only made him laugh more too.)

the class ended well and then we spent some more time in the baby pool before changing and heading home for a nap.

i think next week we'll show up REALLY early and get all our tears out before the other kids show up. and we'll bring our own ball so we have it from the get go. plus, daddy can also come next weekend and help mommy make adam laugh.

--

adam has started to say Hi Mommy! and Hi Daddy! he rides his little bike from room to room telling us hi. when i ask him where something is or any question, he holds his hands up and shrugs his shoulders, shaking his head, like i dunno. he dances like a maniac when eric puts on music, sort of running in place on his tiptoes. he walks to our pantry and points to the door and asks for a COOKIE (too-tee). he likes to blow raspberries on our bare skin and regularly lifts up my shirt to check out my belly (this is problematic in public, ha). he says elmo and abby (both from sesame street) clear as a bell, and he can help take off his own shirt and pants. he tries to put on his own shoes but hasn't quite gotten that one down yet. now that it's warmer and all the snow melted, we've been able to go outside to play more, which has been excellent. adam walks and walks and walks all over our back yard like he has laps to do, often ignoring his toys and slide just to WALK. guess mommy is not the only person who has felt cooped up with this winter!