Ten Things About My Son

1. He loves to laugh and to make others laugh. This kid was born to perform.

2. He is an electronics whiz. He can figure out computers, phones, iPads, iPods, cameras. I always tell people to keep their electronics out of his grasp. He's been known to hijack my phone and text his siblings with his name.

3. He loves to take photos and videos of himself. He'll watch said videos on the iPad for hours. He prefers to watch his selfie videos over movies and cartoons.

4. He comforts others. If he seems that someone is sad, he will put his arm around that person. He is very compassionate.

5. He has taught himself to swim, and he loves to go swimming. He'll run upstairs to his room and put on his swimsuit almost every day.

6. He loves to sing. His favorite songs are, "Happy Birthday," "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," and "Nephi's Courage."

7. He can read. He uses his decoding skills to sound out unfamiliar words on signs, menus, books, newspapers. He likes to show others that he can read.

8. His favorite computer game is Batman 2. He'll even eat his vegetables if it means he can play Batman 2.

9. He is grossed out by his older brother's armpit hair. He thinks it's disgusting when we're in the pool and his brother lifts up his arm. Little does he know, someday he'll have his own armpit hair.

10. He can count to 20 and can do simple addition. He loves to play math games on www.abcya.com.

He Loves to Swim

A few months ago, this kid was not swimming at all. He barely tolerated the water. By the end of the summer, he was jumping in, holding his breath, going under water, doing somersaults, and swimming across the jacuzzi part of the pool. He loves it. He learned all of this from being in the pool so much with us this summer.

He loves swimming so much that sometimes he won't get out of the pool. One night the other kids were done swimming and had gone inside the house.  I was outside next to the pool watching him, but I was in my clothes. I asked him to get out. He told me he didn't want to. And he meant it.  As soon as I got close to one side of the jacuzzi, he swam to the other side. He knew I couldn't reach him without getting into the jacuzzi and since I was dressed, I wasn't going to come in and get him. He thought it was such a fun game. I did not. Finally, I had his older brother get back into his swimsuit and go into the jacuzzi to retrieve Jared.

I was not a happy mom. Jared didn't get to go swimming the next day as a consequence. He hasn't refused to get out of the pool since then.

I am thrilled that he is swimming and that he loves it. He isn't quite ready to brave the main pool. I am hoping that will come as he feels more confident and spends more time in the water.

We're even thinking about putting him on a swim team next spring.

My Newest Fish

We spent last weekend in Provo, UT. We had a great time because we were all together. I love that my older kids live in the same place so we can go visit all of them at once. I love having all of us together.

My oldest son and his wife are house shopping so we visited several homes in the Spanish Fork area and we dragged all of the kids with us. After a long day, we decided to take everyone swimming at the Provo Rec. Center (we tried to go to Seven Peaks but it was way too crowded).

My kids are all fish. Child #4 was swimming around the pool (with floaties) when she was 18 months old. She had no fear of the water at all. In fact, none of my kids have ever feared the water except for my youngest son. He usually hangs onto his dad for dear life when we're swimming. He'll splash a bit but only if he's still clinging to one of us. He's never been one to brave the water much.

This time he was with his oldest brother in the pool and he was still a bit fearful. When his brother showed him that he could touch the ground and still have his head above water he instantly changed into a water-lover. I was shocked to see him walking through the water splashing kids and laughing. He had a great time and he wasn't afraid. Yay!

I grew up next to the ocean and I swam all the time. I spent every summer at the beach (I have the wrinkles to prove it). I love the water and I want my kids to love, and respect, the water. I wasn't sure if my youngest would ever enjoy swimming but this weekend proved that he does. He's my newest fish.