Amalia was happy in the water, playing and jumping in and out of the baby pool, but uncomfortable in the big pool. Any attempts to get her into it was of her own volition and required her to sit down, turn around and get into the water, slowly and with purpose. Once in the water she needed either bratsakia (floaties) or a noodle to float on. Happy but with flotation.
Friday, May10
Daddy was walking home. He was told to get there and change and go straight to the pool. It was a perfect plan after a long and tiring week. He arrived home, put on his bathing suit and went downstairs. Amalia was there, with Irini and their friend Tara. They were all playing in the baby pool but when daddy got there they moved over. They all stood on the edge of the pool, about a foot above the water. Irini was standing on the right, Tara in the middle and little Amalia on the left. With daddy looking on from the middle of the pool Irini dove into the water. She's getting much better at it these days. Tara followed. Then, quite unexpectedly, Amalia flew herself into the pool, head first. Everyone did a double take to see if, in fact, it was Amalia! When she popped out of the water (she still had her floaties) we were excited and impressed. The requisite "bravo" statements were made and Amalia, within moments, wanted to be thrown up in the air like her sister and Tara. By the end of the foray into the water she was happily flipping around, in, and out. Once home, daddy pulled out his cell phone. There was a message, sent at around 5:00 pm or so (hours earlier). It was from Natalia. It said "Amalia is swimming on her own! Come see!"
Saturday, May 11
Now a full week after turning three, Amalia decided that it was time to take off the flotation devices all together. She needed some support, of course, but generally did well gliding in the water and kicking as hard as she could trying to get to daddy's outstretched (but ever retreating) hands. She was awesome! She blew bubbles in the water and used different swimming techniques in an attempt to find what worked best. She liked having daddy in front of her making signals in the water to tell her when to move her arms and legs with her head under water and her eyes open. The parents were filled with immense pride and astonishment. How could she go six months (in developmental time) in 24 hours? Amazing!
Sunday, May 12
Amalia insisted on going to the pool again. Her new-found confidence is obvious. Once there, and as daddy was still getting ready, she threw herself into the water, forcing daddy to abandon his "take your time" approach and jump in after her. She was oblivious to the concern. She had more imporant things to do. As TTmouz and three friends flew into the pool time and time again, Amalia decided to emulate them. She ran into the water and swam as far as she could before taking daddy's hand and pulling her head out of the water for a breath. At one moment she came up coughing. Daddy was concerned. She coughed and coughed, then did one final forward thrust of her head as she coughed up the last of the water. She looked right up and sprang to the end of the deck to run back into the water. Clearly water no longer scares our little girl. She also wanted to try swimming with her mouth above water while breathing. She managed about a meter and a half of above water swimming. Her run and swim practice allowed her to make it almost across the width of the pool (5 meters or so?). By the end of the day she was tired, but oh so happy with her new-found skills. We are soooooo proud and happy with this little, amazing girl! Bravo Amalia! We love you!
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