We went to the pool yesterday with some friends and had success in the water!  Eli was content to just play on the steps of the pool, and kept saying, “I’m not afraid”.  It was pretty cute.   Sammy had on a life jacket and talked about getting in, but chickened out whenever it was time to actually do it.  Finally I got in and he said he wanted to jump in to me.  (Yeah!!)  So I’m positioning myself when all of the sudden, Eli runs up behind Sammy (standing at the edge) and shoves him into the water!  He went in head first!  Thankfully I was right there, but the damage had been done.  There was much panicking and, “get me out!  get me out!”.

After that, I continued offering to get in the water with Sammy, but he refused and was content to play along the side of the pool.  Sometimes he would get brave and say he was ready to get in, but wasn’t able to actually do it.  Then, all of the sudden, he decided he wanted to jump into the water!  I was at the edge and he, almost without warning, jumped right in!  The fears were gone after that and he did wonderfully!  I really couldn’t believe it!  Sammy has been in a pool one time, I think, without panicking so this is a MAJOR accomplishment!  (Lots of exclamation points there, but I’m really excited.)

I grabbed my camera to get a few pictures to share, but nothing great.  I was too busy in the pool with the kids!

I think Eli will do better next time.  I made him get in with me once, and he didn’t panic but the water was a little chilly for him.