Making a Splash

Visiting Pa & Nana and swimming in their pool is quite possibly the highlight of our boys’ summer. They love all their grandparents and beg to go see them or have them visit. And when you combine beloved grandparents with a large body of water that you can actually splash in? Well, what can I say? It’s little boy heaven.

Up to now, the boys have been fairly conservative in their enjoyment of the pool. They’ll “swim” if we’re right their holding them. They’ll jump if we catch them. And heaven forbid their heads go underwater.

But during our most recent visit, the boys discovered that they’re part fish. Fearless fish, one of them. They swam “by themselves” (with the aid of swim vests, but at least we didn’t have to hold them). They put their heads under the water (while wearing scuba goggles, but still a major step forward). They even jumped into the pool (holding on to Mama at first, then by themselves). Over and over again.

For the record, Lij was first to “swim” by himself. Dylan was first to jump by himself. Nicholas was first to jump without a mask (He has no problem going under water. We even have trouble convincing him to close his mouth.)

Here are some pictures of our little fishes, which I’ll deliver in categories (sorry for the abundance of images, it was hard to narrow down such cute pictures):

First up, Swimming. All the boys tried their hand at motoring around the pool solo this trip, Nicholas for the first time.

Second, Poolside Fashion or Rockin’ the Goggles. A special thanks to Pa, who believed goggles would make a difference in their desire to swim. You were right!!

Third, Jumping. Just because we only have one picture of Nicholas in this section doesn’t mean he wasn’t jumping up a storm. He was! He was just too quick to catch on camera. No fear, this one. Just jumped right in. Over and over again. Like his brothers (once they warmed up to the idea).

And finally, what trip to the pool would be complete without some Lounging. After all, learning to swim and jump solo is hard work.

Lij chastised us for not having the video camera. And he’s right. It was adorable and if we don’t capture it on video, we know we’ll kick ourselves forever. So prepare to be invaded again, Pa & Nana. We’re coming back one more time before you close your pool for the season.

If you made it all the way here, bravo!! This was a long post. So for you all die hards, a special reward:

The secret of happiness is…

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