Perch

After finally completing and passing the first three swim levels SKI -- shrimp, kipper, & Inia-- Wesley has advanced to the next swimming level, Perch!

We've had a choppy go at swim class where he took lessons from 6 - 11 months and from 18 - 22 months. We started them up again at 26 months in September, taking lessons with daddy every Saturday morning, and haven't stopped.

Maybe if we didn't have so many breaks he would have been ready for Perch sooner? (I feel like a stage mom when I say this, but its hard being in classes with 10 month olds). So in January Matt talked to the teacher about what we needed to do to get him to the next level and she made sure to work with him on the right skills.

 Here I am holding on to his noodle -- after 4 classes, I don't need to do this anymore, I can just wade next to him!

 So now he's taking Perch with dear old (tiger) mom. At our first class -- whoa! this is not SKI -- there's some actual swimming going on and Wesley didn't know what hit him. He has to use the blue floaters around his belly to practice front & back strokes. He went ballistic! (This is the kid who won't even let the hairdresser put the smock on him. "No," he raises his hand to her.) It takes a few laps around the pool for him to warm up. And he's also supposed to go under water on command ... Right.

We have a lot to work on.

The good thing is that a lot of the kids have taken this class a few times so Wesley will get better as he repeats the class. As soon as he turns 3, he's eligible for the next level but ... Steady there mama -- we'll get there in good time!