might as well jump. JUMP!

amazingly, the bean is halfway through her second session of swim lessons.  she's got a different teacher this time around, and crying boy is nowhere to be seen (or heard).  the first two weeks saw a ton of improvement in her attitude about getting in the water and being open to try new things, which is pretty awesome to watch.

the last day of the first session saw all the proud parents sitting in the bleachers, still and video cameras at the ready.  the rest of the time, we'd been banned from hanging out on the deck and sent behind the gates to watch our wittle pweshus do their thang.  and this time, they all lined up at the other end of the pool and took turns jumping off of the diving board in the deep end.  i doubt most of them realized what was different about that day aside from their location, but a good number of them balked even as their instructor waited below to catch them and help them get back to the edge of the pool.

when it was her turn, the bean climbed the ladder and walked calmly to the end of the diving board.  she peeked over, froze, and retreated.

she'd seen a few of the others before her get a little help from the lifeguard, so when he offered to help her, she accepted.

into the water she landed, kicked her way to the surface, and grinned triumphantly.  oh, do you wanna see?  check it:



now, you'd think that after the first time she'd be cool with jumping off all by herself.  but no.  she didn't balk at a repeat, even two - but requested lifeguard assistance every time.  oh, well.  we're still stoked that she did it at all (even though she'd have had to whether she liked it or not, remember?).

when class was over, she was excited to accept a lollipop and a report card to take home.

she's been kicking ass during the lessons this week, so i'm hopeful that she'll get bumped up to the next level for the third session.  and she's even been bringing a little something extra to class for the last couple of days that seems to be helping her a lot.

a little bit o'hello kitty always makes everything better!