Swim Lessons

So Henry started swim lessons this week! Between the public pool down the street and my father-in-laws house, we are at the pool a lot. So I thought it was a good idea to go ahead and sign him up for a "Mommy and Me" swim lesson. You know, just to get a little formal instruction for my one year old. Because I am positive he will grasp a ton of it and come away the next Michael Phelps.

Well, we get to the pool right on time (a rare occurrence for us) and seemed to be the first group waiting outside of the pool for the instructor. Then another mom and little girl show up. The little girl points to Henry and says "BAAAAABBBBEEEEE!!!" and her mom goes, "Yes! There is a baby!!". So I look at the girl, clearly bigger than Henry, and think "Hmmm....I thought this class was for 12-18 month olds" Then the next couple come with their baby. He is clearly also bigger than Henry, but he doesn't point at him and say "BAAAABBBBEEEE" so we are a little more on even ground. Finally the last parents with their twins show up. The little boy twin looks every bit of two years old. The instructor walks up and looks at Henry and says, "OH my! We have a little one!!!". I scratch my head.

We make our way into the pool and all jump in. We begin the lesson which is mostly singing songs and splashing water. Henry is absolutely loving every second of it. I begin to chit chat with the other moms. Asking names and ages. Well, it turns out that ALL of the babies were 14 months old except the little girl. She was 17 months. But Henry was the EXACT same age as all those other mammoth children. And only three months younger than the girl that pointed him out and cried BABY. When they stood on the wall Henry was the same height as the boy twin and taller than the girl twin and the other little boy, but just not nearly as filled out. I am not positive he deserved all the attention for being so little or a baby, but they all seemed to enjoy his sweetness, so all was right with the world.

No worries though. My boy may not look a little younger, but he was by FAR the most advanced "swimmer" in his class. The other babies, oh they cried. They didn't want their face in, they didn't want to play with toys or noodles. Henry, he was a rebel. He was the first to jump (step) off the wall into the water. The only one to go all the way under. (or to have his mama dunk him as he jumped off the wall. But he loved it! He did it again and again!) The first to go down the slide, the only to use a noodle. He laughed and played and splashed. He ROCKED swim lessons.

By the end of the first lesson the other moms were like, "Um...he is awesome! Is he is the pool a lot??" I told him he was, but the truth is that he just loves the water. And he is fearless. Our little wild child of a water baby.