Swimming with Babybison

Zooey and I started swimming lessons 4 weeks ago and it is SO FUN!!! She had been in the pool a few times before and seemed to enjoy it so we thought it would be fun to take lessons. She thrives on new experiences and social interaction and I thrive on playing with my Zo Zo and since there are swimming lessons on the pool in our basement we thought we would take full advantage. I am in no way a 'tiger mom' and I don't really believe that Zooey will become a stronger swimmer by nature of taking lessons so early (though Adam apparently convinced his colleague that this class with the British Swim School is the beginning of a prep program to get Z ready to swim the English Channel by the age of 17!), but the swim lessons are fully worth the money for the pure fun we have.








She's enjoyed it from day 1, splashing about and eagerly participating in the singing games, the drills and the playtime. She smiles sometimes, but mostly takes it all in looking around, observing.

Last week, Adam was lucky enough to come to class to watch (and take pictures!). I'm so glad he was able to participate in the fun and I thank him for the pictures in this post! That class, Zooey started spitting the water out of her mouth after going under water. We, of course, think she is a swimming genius:)

Today, Zooey was in rare form. It really seems like she has learned what to do and when to do it! Most of the drills start and end on the pool "wall" and we tell the kids to "hold on to the wall". Today, Zooey grabbed the wall and held on (actually tried to pull herself out of the pool!) every single time! She was comfortable putting her entire face under water. She LOVED the songs, as usual, clapping and chatting and even shouting with glee. How I LOVE holding my beautiful daughter while she shouts with glee. Swimming night is the BEST! (And, for my many friends with newborns and infants who are still a lot of work, NOW is when the rewards of having a baby become VERY CLEAR!!).

Zooey had a great time. I had a great time. But the best moment(s) of the night were when the teacher came by to have all the kids "give her 5" and Zooey put her hand up and gave her 5! Two separate times! She clearly knew what she was doing. She put out her hand and gave 5! My wonderful, almost 1 year old, sleeping through the night daughter has learned the social skill of giving 5. Really, really cool.

I'm absurdly equivalently proud that little Z has learned how to be deceitful. At school, Z has full reign of the daycare room which she LOVES. They are obviously not allowed to hit, or bite etc, but the room is theirs to explore. Except for the bins. The under the crib bins. Each kid has one with their extra clothes, coats, socks etc. The kids predictably want to pull out the bins and empty them, so the teachers use it as a chance to teach them "no". Last week, Corey (one of her primary teacher) noticed that Zooey was sitting very close to one of the cribs. She appeared to have her hand stuck between the bin and the cirb. She wasn't upset and she certainly wasn't crying. But whenever Corey looked over at her she would move her body over to hide her hand and wouldn't make eye contact. When Corey snuck a glance, Zooey was working hard to release her hand but just couldn't figure it out. Hilarious! Our sneaky little Z.