I am amazed at the progress Ellie and Faith have made just this year in swimming.
Faith has always loved water. I think she's part fish. She is not the least bit afraid -- which isn't always a good thing. Just in a few weeks, she has gone from sitting on the side, to floating by herself, doing the back float and now she'll jump off the side, go under, swim up to the top and over to the steps (with floaties on, of course). We literally have to drag her out of the pool when its time to quit. The boys are now working on teaching her how to do cannon balls -- all at the ripe old age of TWO!
Ellie's not a huge fan of large bodies of water. When we first welcomed her home, she despised water. Bath time and hair washing was a nightmare. She would scream like I've never heard any baby scream before! Last year she was content to sit on the side with her containers and fill them with pool water -- and she would sometimes drink the water too... we had to be super careful not to splash her in any way.... But, this year she will allow us to carry her into the water and has even floated around by herself with her floaties on! And, just recently has started holding on to the side and kicking -- and blowing bubbles. It's a huge breakthough! It's really cool to see Ellie begin to trust us and know that she's safe when we have her or ask her to do something. And, having a 'daring-come-on-let's-try-it' sister helps reassure Ellie too. (See, God's plant is always perfect)
We also started swim lessons and Ellie is doing fantastic! Even though you can't tell, she's still terrified inside, but she is oh so proud of herself when she does it by herself. We are trying to build her confidence and sometimes have to push her just a wee bit to try something new... or she would be content to sit on the side and watch -- but after she does it once and see's that it's ok, she wants to try it again! Progress!! Spending a week at the beach and in the pool every day helped out too. I'm hopeful by the end of summer that she'll be jumping off the side by herself too!
Here's a few pics of our swimming girls!
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| Don't worry - he caught her! |
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| Blowing bubbles -- huge success. |
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| I did it! |
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| Fishy Face! |
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| A Cheerleader in training! |
Cute pics! Iris loves the water, it's fun to see the progress over time :) Hey, just wondering what products do you use for Ellie's hair? It looks really healthy and the texture looks similar to Iris's and I'm still at a loss...
ReplyDeleteI use quite a concoction! I like the "As I Am" products and use the co-wash, cleansing pudding and the leave in conditioner. I also use the Cantu Shea butter line(that can be purchased at walmart or target). I use the leave in conditioner, shampoo and the hair dressing (that's what I use when I do her braids). I typically cleanse, condition (comb through), then put a leave on conditioner on, in addition to any type of styling stuff. I also use coconut oil on her scalp. Hope that helps!!
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