Shark Boy

Bode has developed into quite the swimmer.  He started taking lessons in January.  Ten months later, he is a Level VI swimmer aka a Shark at Donna's Dolphins.  There are eight stickers to earn as a shark. Bode has earned two of them.  I hadn't been to a lesson in a couple weeks, so I was amazed at what I saw on Saturday.  He looks like a real swimmer--stroke looks great, breathing quickly, and when he remembers to kick, he's fast.  His instructor, Mr. Brian, said Bode has great instincts in the water (I don't know what that means either; must be swim-speak for something other than doesn't drown).  He said as soon as Bode grows another two feet and adds 150 pounds of muscle, he will be ready for the Olympics.

Not only can Bode do freestyle, but he also is quite adept at the backstroke.  His only issue with the backstroke is he sinks if he doesn't kick fast enough.  When he puts it all together, he looks great.  Like Mr. Brian says, it is simply a matter of building up those muscles to prevent the fatigue that causes him to stop kicking (and the fact that he's five and sometimes forgets to do all that stuff :-)

They have also introduced the concept of flip-turns.  They started by teaching Bode how to do a flip in the water, and then slowly got him closer to the wall.  He's decent at it, but the common theme this post is repetition will make him better.  This isn't to say everyone is thrilled with his capabilities.  The key is to get his form and technique down, and as he grows and starts doing laps (if that is his thing), the rest of the stuff will fall into place.

We always finish swim lessons with a little play time.

Bode's school had its Fall Carnival last night.  The school doesn't have the kids dress up on Halloween, so this was their chance to wear the costumes to school.  Bode's costume is hilarious.  He's a bat!

I only got the following action shot of Bode at the carnival.  Ashley and I had volunteered to help man (woman) one of the booths, so Grammy took Bode around.  We finally caught up to him in the bouncy house.

A "first-time ever" occurred this weekend.  As I said above, Ashley and I had volunteered to work at the school carnival.  Unfortunately, this conflicted with the Auburn game.  Rather than have Ashley check her phone every minute, I suggested we leave the phones at home and go into a communications black out.  I said we could record the game and watch it when we got home.  If you know Ashley, she always must watch the game live.  I think she still believes she has the ability to influence the outcome. Anyway, after much guilting, she agreed.  Fortunately, Auburn won, beating Johnny Football 45-41 in a thriller.  I suggested we should record all games from now on.  She was not amused.  Happy Sunday.