Swimming with Charlie

One of my greatest joys as a parent is seeing Ben bring joy to others.
There were many kids at the condo, but Ben has a real knack for seeking out his elders. Charlie was one of Ben's many special friends down at the pool - and the only one who encouraged Ben to call him by his first name. In fact, as I was digitizing this footage, Ben walked in and immediately said, "Charlie! Swimming!" (Never mind the fact that he's never been able to call our cat Charlie by his actual name).



Also? Watch this boy swim!
Soon after I turned off the camera, Ben let go of Keith's finger and paddled all over the pool without any assistance (save the life jacket, of course). It was incredible to watch his confidence build each day. It's amazing to see what a little encouragement does - it was a good parenting lesson for us, too. One of patience, confidence, and letting go.


We did take him down to the ocean - that was pretty overwhelming. But we've been home now for 5 days and Ben still asks me each morning if we can go swimming.

P.S. You didn't think we actually swam without basketballs, did you?!