My Sweet Little Fish
I took Abraham and Rachel swimming today at MeeMaw's (Philip's parent's) house with my friend, Jennifer, and her niece, Natalie. Rachel doesn't mind the water and enjoys splashing her hands in it. She's not crazy about being dropped into the water and going under. She sort of makes a funny face and blinks the water out of her eyes and just tolerates it. She enjoys playing with the duck feet on her swimsuit (they are sewn on at the top of the duck's legs so the legs and feet dangle and float in the water) while floating on her back. I love her squeals of laughter when something strikes her as funny. She has a delightful smile and is very generous with it.
Abraham is crazy about the water. The first few times of swimming this summer, he just giggled with delight as soon as he got near the pool. He loves to go under the water and swims 5 to 7 feet while holding his breath. When he is swimming, he sticks his tongue out and curls it up toward his nose. Then when I bring him up for air, he hardly takes a breath and is going down into the water again for another trip to MeeMaw or the pool wall. We have had to make him say, "Here I come!" before he slides into the water to swim because he is so fearless.
It has been very interesting to see the difference between fear and caution. Abraham has always been cautious...he will slow down and carefully walk over a storm grate in the sidewalk or down the steps. He was a late walker and I'm convinced it is because he wanted to be careful and not fall down (too much). And even when jumping into the water from the side of the pool, he is cautious. At first, he would sit down and then sort of slink into the water. He has graduated to sort of falling off the edge rather than jumping (he doesn't quite have that concept down yet), but he is cautious about how he goes in. He is no kamikaze toddler--running into walls and falling down stairs. And yet his caution is not produced by fear. He is clearly not afraid of the water, but he's cautious about how he jumps into the water. And as he's grown more confident in it, we've had to teach him to exercise more caution before going under to swim. I am so proud of my precious little fishies and they are sooo much fun!
Abraham is crazy about the water. The first few times of swimming this summer, he just giggled with delight as soon as he got near the pool. He loves to go under the water and swims 5 to 7 feet while holding his breath. When he is swimming, he sticks his tongue out and curls it up toward his nose. Then when I bring him up for air, he hardly takes a breath and is going down into the water again for another trip to MeeMaw or the pool wall. We have had to make him say, "Here I come!" before he slides into the water to swim because he is so fearless.
It has been very interesting to see the difference between fear and caution. Abraham has always been cautious...he will slow down and carefully walk over a storm grate in the sidewalk or down the steps. He was a late walker and I'm convinced it is because he wanted to be careful and not fall down (too much). And even when jumping into the water from the side of the pool, he is cautious. At first, he would sit down and then sort of slink into the water. He has graduated to sort of falling off the edge rather than jumping (he doesn't quite have that concept down yet), but he is cautious about how he goes in. He is no kamikaze toddler--running into walls and falling down stairs. And yet his caution is not produced by fear. He is clearly not afraid of the water, but he's cautious about how he jumps into the water. And as he's grown more confident in it, we've had to teach him to exercise more caution before going under to swim. I am so proud of my precious little fishies and they are sooo much fun!
posted by Holly Putnam | 8:07 PM
1 Comments:
Alas, Datya is a fish, but I am not. I try to avoid swimming at altogether! :-)
I much enjoy sitting in the sun and soaking up the warmth. Guess that's why I LOVE Georgia!
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