We’ve been enjoying the neighbor’s pool again this summer. Doodle has been wearing his little swimmer vest with 4 of the styrofoam pads in it. Then we accidently left the vest at my parents’ house a few weekends ago.

When we went swimming, I wanted him to try to swim without the vest. When he tried, his head pretty quickly went under, but he was able to recover and surprised me and himself by swimming the width of the pool. When he reached the other side, he came up coughing but was so proud of himself.

My mom mailed the little swimmer vest to us, so I’m still having him wear it most of the time since I’m usually managing Rosebud in the water too. (Doodle and I are both more comfortable that way for now. ) But it is fun to see his confidence growing. He’s enjoying jumping off the diving board and looking underwater with his goggles.

Last week he practiced swimming with his face in the water and lifting it up when he needed a breath. It has been very satisfying to see him progress. It’s like teaching a kid to read.