Today we went swimming. Joseph has still been using a "bubble" (those foam thingys that you strap to their backs) to assist him in swimming, up until a week or two ago, when we switched him to a small life vest because we couldn't find the bubble. The vest did not give him as much lift, and I thought it might be a good transition to swimming unassisted. Apparently it was.
About thirty minutes before we were planning to leave, Joseph asked if I would get in the pool and let him try to swim without the vest. I'm a "fair weather swimmer" so the last two times we went swimming I didn't get in because the water temp still wasn't up to my liking. This time it was, so I told him he could give it a shot.
I got in and stood about three feet from the steps, mentally preparing myself for the long drawn out process of swimming attempts which we experienced with each of the other kids in which they gradually swim a little further, struggling along, until after a few weeks they can be declared an independent swimmer. Joseph dove into the water and swam. . .right past me. He circled around me and went back to the steps. So I backed up. He did it again. I backed up further. This time he didn't swim back to the steps but swam to the side where he retrieved a toy. He spent the next 20 minutes throwing a "diving ring" to the bottom of the pool and diving to the bottom to get it. So there you have it. Apparently Joseph can swim. Who knew?
This actually isn't that surprising. Joseph has always been our "water baby", prefering to be in the water as much as possible from a very young age (he consistently takes 2 hour baths). He used to be constantly frustrated with his "bubble" because it would not allow him to dive under the water and stay submerged for any amount of time. He can hold his breath for a really long time. . .long enough it is scary. When we used to go the Y when he was 2, he used to scare the life guards because he loved to float with his face in the water for so long they thought he surely was drowning. But that's just what he likes. It's not at all hard to imagine him as a future life guard. He tans easier than any of the other kids, and his hair just gets blonder. . .we may have to change our phone number when he hits adolescence.