Cautious Carter

January has brought a lot of firsts for my Cautious little boy. He is not a fan of taking risks(he gets that from his mother) and so he's very hesitant to try new things. Since we missed summer swim lessons I decided to sign him for winter lessons.

Carter LOVES swimming. Carter loves swimming on HIS terms. He doesn't like to get his face wet or water in his eyes or ears. He has no desire to swim alone.

Enter swimming lessons....

The first thing they moved was the back float. We have been unable to get Carter to float on his back or even lay down in the bathtub. The first day his poor little eyes were wide with terror and he was clinging to his teacher, hanging on for dear life. Now he can float on his back (although it still freaks him out a bit). He actually doesn't mind floating on his back until the day came where the teacher let go of him and wanted him to float alone. But he has made such great progress in that area.

He will now swim with his face underwater where before he kept his head above and tried to doggy paddle. He actually likes to do bobs in the water now.

He does reach his limit at swimming lessons though. I feel bad for him and part of me wants to scoop him up and never make him do something that scares him ever again. But then the rational part of me knows its good for him. Very good for him.

And no matter how "traumatized" he is after each lesson he keeps begging for more. So I know he's not too traumatized! He takes lessons on Tuesday and Thursdays and each day he will ask "When will it be swimming lesson day!" He just finished his 4 week session and we signed him up for the next session as well. Needless to say, he did not pass this level! But I'm so proud of him for facing some of his biggest fears and going back day after day to practice.

To make sure none of his skills are forgotten, Carter will proudly show me all of his moves in the bathtub now. The front float, with face fully submerged.

And the back float. He's actually fine floating on his back in the bathtub since he knows he can't sink!

The 2nd risk of the month:

Learning to ski. He has now been to Beaver Mtn. 3 weeks in a row.

The first day he got fitted for a new helmet, skis and boots. The man at the shop, who was very nice, was initially helping him. Carter got a little overwhelmed so we stepped in and took over the fittings.

Then out to the slopes where we learned that Carter is NOT a natural skier! But bless his heart, he did try.

He started getting the hang of it after a few trips down the mountain. He even started asking us to let go of him so he could go by himself. He hasn't quite figured out the whole balance thing yet but is making good progress.

Neil was so patient with him.

There were a few of the expected meltdowns but nothing major.

Carter's favorite part of the experience was the magic carpet. That was his motivation for skiing down the hill; to be able to ride back up again. He viewed it almost as an amusement park ride.

After a long morning of skiing we unwinded in the lodge with some snacks and a juice from the snack bar. Which is now a must have apparently.

I'm so proud of my little boy for being so brave and trying all these things that really stretch his comfort level. I keep reminding him that he was scared to death of walking for the longest time and scared of riding his bike and now he's a pro!

And now for some sweet pictures of my brave boy.

Tuckered out after a long day. Snuggling with Monkey. Monkey makes everything better really.

Carter is quite a copycat sometimes. One morning after laying down on ice packs for a bit to ice a sore back Carter decided that his back was quite sore and had to have him own time on the ice packs. This required Monkey and Mickey and his blanket!