Zeke Jumps and Swims

Zeke has taught himself to swim this summer. His strategy was to get in the four foot part of pool with me, then launch himself away from me. Then, he would struggle madly to stay afloat. I was not allowed to touch him, and if I tried, he'd stick just his little hand out of the water and finger-wag me. If I moved toward him, he would use his brief breaths to tell me to stay away.


It was alarming/funny. So I would stand in the pool with my arms out, and he'd grab them when he was ready.


Eventually, he figured out how to swim underwater with breast stroke arms and a flutter kick. (Adorable.) He also figured out how to flutter kick on his back, float on his belly, and dive under my legs. Like Victor, he will not let me teach him how to do any strokes.


Zeke has never been particularly daring, so it was interesting to watch him try so hard at something difficult.



Last night was our ward pool party.


It was Victor and Zeke's first experience with a real diving board and a real deep end.

I was not concerned about Victor, but I was not sure Zeke would be able to make it back to the wall after his jump.

The lifeguard made him swim across the entire deep end of the pool before he was allowed to use the diving board, and he did it! He was so proud.

The diving board itself was super fun. He used it to exhaustion, and I had to pluck him out of the water after his last jump.