The Next Michael Phelps

Swimming lessons are a rite of passage for any child. But for me having Colton start swim lessons is a really big deal. I was a competitive swimmer my whole life...I started at age 7 or so with summer league teams, joined a year-round team at about 9, and stayed with it until I graduated high school and went to a college that would most definitely need my athletic services! Swimming was a really big deal to me...that's where most of my best friends were, where I met my first boyfriend, etc. It was what I did, and to a large extent, who I was.
So, I have been looking forward to the day when he could start swim lessons since the day he was born!!! I wanted to sign him up last year, but at that age all they offer is mommy and me classes. I would obviously have had no problem getting in the water with him (we do it quite frequently), but my little boy has, at the very least, inherited my love of the water. The Mommy and Me classes, which are designed to help little ones get comfortable in the water, would have done us no good...comfort is not our issue! Having no fear is...
Needless to say, when we got the flyer saying our center was offering Tiny Tot lessons for 2-3 year olds, I jumped on it. Of course, Colton is just barely 2, and I knew the class was probably geared more towards the older end of that range. But being a former swim lesson teacher myself, I was pretty confident that my little water baby would have no problems keeping up physically. The only wild card would be how well he would listen and follow directions.
On the day of his first class, he was very excited to be at the pool.

When he met his teacher, she seemed a little (or maybe a lot) hesitant to have Colton in the class (it probably doesn't help that he is a teeny, tiny 2 year old, so he looks a little younger than he is). For his part, he was not very happy to be entering the pool without his mommy. She had suggested that I stay close by in case they needed me, but Colton just couldn't get past "mama" with me there, so Levi and I went and hid and he pretty quickly got with the program. He was kicking, and blowing his bubbles, and getting the ring...oh, and at the end, when they finally got to jump in (his favorite part of any swim session), he was a star! He patiently waited his turn, put his little toes right on the edge as instructed, and jumped right in!

I don't know if he's destined to be a swimmer...honestly I kind of hope not...mom doesn't really want to have to drive him to those 4AM practices! But it sure was cute to watch!!!