I promised Em a swim parka if she stuck with the swim team for a few months and really worked hard. The swimming is still going strong and she has definitely stuck by it. She knew her parka was waiting for her at swim on Monday and she couldn’t get to the pool fast enough. She got to celebrate her new parka with her friend Avery and now it is hard to get her to take it off.

Her month of hard work has paid off. Her coach told her last night she is ready to move onto the swim team.

She literally “lit up” when they told her. She is clearly very proud of making the team and I am so very proud of her, too.

And I am very impressed with her desire to get into the freezing pool every single night to practice. And also that she has a seriously wicked butterfly stroke. So much better than her mama’s…by far. Her Coach walked her through it for the first time last night and I think surprised everyone with how quickly she got it.

Now whenever Coach T. says they are going to do a race, Em asks “can we do the butterfly stroke?” (Cue the rest of the class groaning and complaining.) I just pray she continues to be so in love with swimming when she is required to swim an hour every night of the week.

(Tonight’s photo credit goes to Addie. She is not going to be impressed with spending that much more time at the pool, I can tell you that much.)