A day of firsts.....

I took the boys to the Hamilton Pool today......Can I just say that community pools (well, acutally any kind of pool) make me a nervous wreck.

Luke jumped off the diving board for the first time, and Max did a front flip off the diving board for the first time!

Luke is at the wonderful age where he cannot think of anything on his own - anything Max says or does, he just automatically wants to do it, without hesitation, because Max is doing it. It doesn't help that he is the little brother to Max AND big brother to Sam........the dreaded "middle child"!

After swimming around for a while, Max declares "I'm going to the diving boards (which he has done many times), and I'm going to do a front flip off of it (which he has NEVER done)."

I say, "OK"

Luke immediately jumped out of the water too, and says, "I'm going to jump off the diving boards with Max (which he has NEVER done)."

I say, "OK"

And off they went!

Then I started realizing what I just allowed. I am all the way on the other side of the pool with Sam thinking "Am I really allowing this? Luke just started swimming on his own a month ago....could he drown? How qualified are these child looking lifeguards? Will Luke really jump off the diving board into the incredibly deep water? Will Max crack his head open when he tries to do his front flip?"

So I panic, stand up, and start swinging my arms around, and yelling their names, telling them to WAIT! I looked ridiculous carrying this huge, sweaty toddler on my hip, in a wet deformed bathing suit that is all "bunched up" in places it just shouldn't be, walking (no running at the pool!) as fast as I could to the diving boards!

Well, they did not hear me (all of Hamilton Pool did, though!), and I see Max do a perfect flip off the diving board! Then I see Luke confidently climb up the ladder, walk all the way to the edge of the board, turn around, and walk directly off the diving board.

I just made it over to them when he was walking off the board with huge crocodile tears coming down. "I want to do it!", he says over and over.

On a side note, sweet Sam is reaching his arms out to Luke wanting to hug him because he was crying so hard, all of the pool is noticing the "crazy mom" finally made it over to her kids, and Max is oblivious to the whole situation, just doing flip after flip off the diving board .

"Then DO IT!" I confidently say with a smile on my face. "Do it, and I will be right here to cheer you on!"

So he did! By his third time he was doing perfect cannon balls - something Max couldn't master until this year....

"Did you see that cannon ball, Max?" says Luke.

"Yeah..........great, Luke......now try to do a flip like me!"

Bless his heart he was even willing to try to do that, too.