What a Change!

So we started the summer with swimming lessons at Schlitterbahn. I had great hopes of Landry loving the water and thriving as a swimmer. I loved to swim as a kid (and still do) and was excited to share that with him. Also, we were leaving for vacation in 10 days and would have a pool on site and I wanted Landry to be able to get to the side of the pool should he fall in. Well my great hopes quickly turned bleak. We participated in the daily ritual of tears and chasing Landry around the pool area to get him back in his lesson. The chase (walking of course) usually ended with me picking him up and either handing him off to the teacher or throwing him in the pool to the teacher, not to mention me getting soaked. It was definitely a tough love experience. I just prayed that the other onlooking parents were not dialing CPS on their cell phones.



Well, after 7 lessons it was time to head to Florida. Landry was confident swimming with a noodle but still would not put his face in the water. As we swam in Florida he got more confident and by the time we left Papa had convinced him that putting his face is was not too bad. Thanks Papa! Landry was having fun swimming and playing in the pool.



Once back home we were scheduled to take lessons with an icon in town - Ms. Bucky! Bucky Smith has been teaching lessons for 30+ years in a pool that she and her father built by hand in the 60's. Landry was very excited and kept asking when he would get to go to Ms. Bucky's. I on the other hand was reluctant and not looking forward to 2 more weeks of tough love.



Day 1 started as Landry followed the other 4 kids into the pool. They all started playing around and before the lesson ever started he was already putting his face in! Hallellujah - we were off to a great start! In the first hour (day 1) the kids learned the dead man float, how to glide on thir stomachs with their face in the water, kicking, and two different arm movements. I was AMAZED at the things LAndry was trying and doing without any fight or hesitation. By day 3 he was swimming across the pool and getting better everyday. The mom's joked that if al this was happening on day 3, it must be olympic tryouts on day 10! Well, we finished 2 weeks of lessons and never once did Landry complain. In fact, each day he asked when it was time to go to Ms. Bucky's. It was such a great experience for both of us (except for sitting in the 105 degree heat every afternoon!)



Well, here is some video of the things Landry learned. I will try to make the day of the lesson if I can figure it out.



The first video is from Day 3.

This next one is from Day 6.

This is from Day 8 or 9.

Here's the "frog" stroke.

OK - so I could go on and on with videos of my new little fish! I am so proud of him.

When we started swimming lessons he would not jump in without holding on to the edge of getting Ms. Bucky's hand. Look at him now! Not only is he jumping in and doing has favorite - cannon balls, but he learned to dive and has even invented his own Superman dive/jump.

I guess I have used all my luck in getting these videos to load becuase I can't get the jumping or diving videos to work. So for now, thanks for reading and watching. Hopefully I'll get the other videos to load for those that want more.

Our first Spring Break

So Landry and I enjoyed our first spring break (OK - his first and my first in many years). We didn't have any big plans since Steve had spring break 2 weeks ago. But we knew we would have some fun. Landry started his break by going to his first in person Spurs game with Daddy. Here's a quick shot I got before they headed out to the game.

We ended the week with a day trip to Round Top. The beautiful quaint town (population 77) near La Grange, Texas. Every spring they play host to the largest antique, craft fair type of event. Vendors line the road for miles. We walked and walked and walked some more (about 5 hours of walking in all - good practice for our Disney trip). We even came away with a few goodies. Along the way we found a great treasure that is no where to be found in the San Antonio area this year - Bluebonnets. Had to stop and get a picture or 2. Here's Landry posing in the bluebonnets (he even managed a smile after being pooped out from our long day).

In between the Spurs and Round Top, we did a little shopping, played a little Wii, did some cleaning and even made it to a couple of appointments. All in all the hanging out time was a great restful week (and helped me get over a sinus infection) . We are both ready to go back to school and the year with a bang!

Hope you are all enjoying your spring.

Don't Faint!

We're back! Landry and I sat down at the computer today and gave the blog a facelift. He picked out the background and all the colors. Now were off to find new things to add to the blog.