Eli Swims! A Photo Essay

So Eli has been taking swim lessons for about a month now during his weeks at summer camp, and has made it all the way to Level 3, which means he's really very close to actual swimming. It's a HUGE difference from last year when he did swim lessons--back then it was really difficult to get him to even put his face in the water. This year he's eager, excited and so proud of himself. I think he'll have swimming mostly mastered by the end of the summer--another milestone reached!

Last week on the morning of the day we left on our mini-vacation, we had the rare opportunity to stick around and watch Eli's swim lesson. Of course I brought my camera. He totally showed off for us, but totally loved that we were both there watching him. And we loved watching him, our goofy little guy, growing up before our eyes.

^ Eli at the pool, waiting around impatiently for the lesson to start.

^ Practicing backwards push-offs with his "swim buddy".

^ The lesson gets exciting--a trip to the deep end!

^ The most exciting part of the lesson...jumping off the diving board! (He hit the water with a big ol' belly flop but didn't seem to mind...)