Non-stop Pool Time

Kayli and I have had non-stop pool time since Memorial weekend! We have just been "pool hopping" from Aunt Karen/Uncle Kevin, Aunt Laura/Uncle Mickey, Aunt Marion/Uncle Jim's pools!

At the beginning of this "pool stint", Kayli had a scary incident while playing with cousin Anna, that involved falling off a raft, her cousin attempting to "help" her by pulling on her arm, which just left her with one arm to tread water, then panic, then down, under the water, she went, then a long 5-10 seconds or so before I could rescue her. As I was sitting just a few feet away on the pool steps, I was close enough to respond quickly, but having jumped in with my swimsuit cover-up on, this made it difficult to get through the water quickly. All in all it was a good lesson, since I had warned her not to go out on the raft with her cousin unless she had another flotation device, like a noodle. It also reinforced to me that she needs lots of practice on water safety, while learning to swim. You can't anticipate what someone else in the pool will do to jeopardize your safety, and that's how kids get into trouble.
Since then, Kayli has practiced and practiced, and is getting very good at using her arms for swimming. She would rather just duck her head down in the water and without using any arm movement, just kick her way across the pool, under the water, like a torpedo. Sometimes she will use her arms like the breaststroke, if she's not getting through the water fast enough. She loves being under the water, diving for rings, doing flips, kicking like a mermaid, and holding her breath for a good long time. Her Uncle Kevin got her to swim on top of the water by telling her to pretend like she is reaching out to "pick cherries" with her arms, as fast as she can, which is meant to simulate the arm motions of the front crawl. She thought this was pretty fun and can now do it pretty well. She even figured out that she can pop her head up and take a breath. She can also flip onto her back and float.I'm amazed at all she's learned so far, and glad!I think there will come a time when she's a good strong swimmer, but doubt that the time will come for me to quit worrying!