Ben thinks he can swim...

...but he can't. This has been a big worry for us this summer. He has absolutely no fear of the water. What's worse is that he doesn't want me to hold onto him ~ which is frustrating for us both. But, Thursday I took the kids to the rec center to swim ~ more for Cailey than anything. I bought a floatation vest for Ben that didn't work...he just sank to the bottom...and he hated wearing it. So, half way through our swimming, I took it off and let him play in the baby area. Then, he spotted Cailey by the lazy river and wanted to see her. I thought, "no problem, we'll go in the lazy river together." I will make a long story short ~ Ben decided to walk towards the chairs next to the lazy river (I was following right behind him) and then, at the last second, made a 90 degree turn...took two steps...bent his knees...and jumped into the lazy river!!!! My "mom panic" mode kicked in and I jumped in ~ albeit, on top of him ~ and picked him up out of the water. Although jumping on him wasn't a great idea (not really my intention anyway), I also knew I didn't have time to just reach in and grab him because the not-so-lazy river is moving at a pretty good speed ~ I knew he would get swept out of my reach if I didn't jump in after him. After pulling him out of the water, I turned to see the life guard ~ who mouthed "OH MY GOD" to me while using her best "I can't believe he just did that" look on her face. I gave her my best "I am so sorry" look and we proceeded to pick up our belongings and go home. That was enough excitement for me and I clearly needed to go buy a new life vest and sign my son up for swim lessons immediately :o) I still can't believe Ben jumped in without even a seconds hesitation!!!! I must be a masochist because I took the kids to a water park today ~ don't worry, I bought a new life vest that worked like a charm...yes, Ben was able to prove it to me right away when he jumped into the pool...this time, I was waiting for him in the pool :o) :o) (I will blog about the water park tomorrow when I have more energy and the pictures are uploaded.) Obviously, Ben will be enrolled in swim lessons shortly. Can't wait to see how that progresses!!