Swimming!

It's amazing what a whole week on the water's edge will do. Althought Ella was extatic about having the water at her doorstep to begin with, everything is on her terms. At first she would just wade to her waist. Then she would jump in if we held her hands. Then she would let us hold her and take her out into the water a little deeper (for a few seconds at a time only). Then she would let us hold her belly down and practice her swimming. And on the 7th day....she SWAM!!!
We would be holding her having her practice swimming to the other and then just let go a little at the very end. She was not fond of this but got used to it. Then she would wade into the water to us and we would slowly back up encouraging her to swim to reach our hands. Finally she would gingerly pick her feet up off the ground and swim a foot or so to us. She just kept getting bolder and bolder, plunging right in and swimming further and further! We had a few setbacks, with water getting in her ears or face which scares her, but by the last day at camp she was jumping off the deep end of the dock to one of us and swimming around with all the adults! Now we go for dips in grandma's pool and she swims the ENITRE length! Although she can still be timid and times and a little frightened, she can also often be heard saying, "No! Don't hold me. I do it myself!"