The Deep End

One of the many things that I have always loved about Lia is how obedient she is.  Since she could walk and talk, Lia has always been one of those children that naturally follows the rules and respects boundaries.  We really had nothing to do with this--it's just the way that she was born.  But the one side effect that I don't always like is how it makes Lia timid and afraid to try certain things.  One of those things that she has struggled with is having the courage to swim in lakes without a life jacket.  Although she has been taking swim lessons faithfully for three straight school years and has been able to swim comfortably in a pool for quite some time, she never has had the courage to jump off the end of the dock into the deep end without her life jacket on.  But we turned a corner the first week of summer when Lia started jumping off the side of the dock to Ron without her life jacket on when we were there one afternoon.  The second week of summer, I got her (and her friend, Mollie) to do this same thing over and over again while I treaded water and waited for them out in the water.  And then a few days later, we were back at the lake for the 4th of July with a bunch of Lia's older cousins.  Apparently, this was all she needed to get the courage to jump off the deep end.  By the end of the holiday weekend, Lia was running to jump off the deep end of the dock AND swimming several feet out into the lake.  It was so awesome!  I'm so proud of her as I have been waiting for her to do this for three summers now.  We went back up to the lake today with Ron and I was able to catch a few pictures of Lia showing off her new found skills.  Check out my brave girl below!

Lia jumping off the dock!

And another leap into the water.

A happy Lia swimming in the deep end with no life jacket on.

Lia taking another jump after Ellie (the renter of the upper cabin was down at the beach for a few minutes with his 8-year old daughter).

Lia and Ellie playing with the paddle board.

I couldn't resist snapping a picture of a happy Ella playing in the water with papa.

Once again, a too-scared-to-play-in-the-deep-water Logan hung out near the shore.  He got a big kick out of the paddle board and eventually let Ron and me push him back and forth from the shore to the deep end while laying on top of it.