the best idea ever

Living in a climate where you have to stay inside for almost 6 months of the year, because it's too cold to go outside, with a very active 3 year old can make for an incredibly long winter season.  Thankfully, we decided (and when I say we decided I mean I decided to do it, looked into different lessons around town, signed Cayden up and told Jake about it) to sign Cayden up for swimming lessons.  As a 3 year old he is now considered preschool age and is too old for the parent/child class which means that not only does Mommy not have to get into a bathing suit (YEAH!!!) but he has to swim alone for the first time in a body of water other than the bathtub.  This was some cause for concern because he is such a Mama's boy but I went ahead and signed him up anyway.  He was so excited to go swimming the day of his first lesson that we couldn't even put pants on over his swim trunks, despite the below zero windchill.  I got really nervous as I was getting his coat on because my sometimes sweet little boy looked at me and said "you want to go swimming with me" (with his voice rising at the end in the cutest, most heart-melting way he has).   I told him that he would be going swimming with the other kids and with his teacher.  He looked slightly confused as to why I didn't just say "yes" but seemed to be OK.  Needless to say, my worries were completely unfounded because as soon as he saw the other kids sitting with their feet in the water he went right over to his teacher, sat down with his feet in the water, let her strap on his floaty belt and got right in.  I was both incredibly proud of my big boy and a little sad that he was such a big boy.

He LOVED his swimming lesson so much that when it was time to go, we had a complete meltdown.  He wanted to keep swimming and did not want to go home.  I am extremely glad that he is going to be swimming twice a week, every week, for the next 5 weeks.