Swimming

I took Hayden for his first swimming experience. Since he won't even get into his kiddie pool at home, I knew it would probably be disasterous and it almost was. I planned ahead and got him the little panda float while Suzi and I were at Wal-Mart. I didn't know if it would help, but I figured it couldn't hurt. You know how there are experiences that kids dread, but you know once they try, they will love? This was one. He SCREAMED when we were putting him in the float. He tried to hang on to my neck and cried for about 10 minutes. I felt so bad, like I had just told him to sink-or-swim. Of course, I was close to him, constantly reassuring him that I wouldn't let anything happen to him. And then, he started to loosen his grip on my neck. It helped that my nephew, Matthew, was playing in the pool. Hayden actually started smiling and even laughing. Before long he was kicking his legs and shooting Matthew with the water gun. We even got him out of the float and bounced around the pool and splashed. He even kicked his legs while Suzi was holding him on his stomach. Maybe he will turn out to be a water lover like me and Craig after all. We stayed in the pool almost three hours and by the time Uncle Chris got home, Hayden was ready to get out. I think it was a good experience and I hope that next time he is a little more willing to get right in.