Swimming

Many afternoons or evenings we take Ellie "swimming" in the hot tub. She has learned to get excited about changing into her "swimsoup" (as she pronounces it) and heading out to go swimming. She is now tall enough to stand in the deep part by herself, with her head above water, and this new found freedom means she gets to have more fun! She is very cautious, but tries new things every so often. Like holding onto the side of the tub and jumping in the water. Or standing on the seat and jumping a little ways to me in the other seat. She knows I will catch her, and it's so exciting to see her confidence blooming. She also recently started going from the seat to the deep center part by herself, and I love it when she does this. She closes her eyes and holds her breath before she takes the step down off the seat, because she thinks she might go under. It doesn't scare her, and I wouldn't let anything happen to her even if she did go under. But she prepares herself for the possibility when she steps down. And when she plants her feet on the bottom and her head is still above water, she grins and giggles at me while I tell her she did a good job. I am happy to see her exploring her world, and growing in confidence as she tries new things.