An Olympian In The Making & A SwimWays Twitter Party

Have you been watching the 2012 London Olympics? I'm embarrassed to admit this, but sadly, we have not. I just haven't had a chance to sit and watch TV in the last two weeks and I have missed most of this great event. I did catch a bit of it in our break room at work one day last week, and I was lucky enough to see the USA take a gold medal in swimming. She won by a huge distance, too. It was awesome!

After watching a member of the U.S. Olympic Swim Team win a gold medal, I started wondering how young she was when she started swimming. Chances are, she started swimming when she was a young child, and has developed her skills over the years. Then I thought about my Rylie and how much she loves swimming. Perhaps she will be the next Missy Franklin or Allison Schmitt, winning medals left and right in the Olympics.

Thanks to the awesome products from SwimWays, Rylie has conquered her fear of the water and has the confidence she needs to make it to the Olympics one day! At the beginning of the summer, she didn't want to leave the steps of the pool unless someone was holding her. She started off in the Swim Steps program at Step 2, and became more confident and less fearful as she swam around in her Swim Vest and Swim Sweater from SwimWays.

Rylie recently moved up to Swim Step 3, and we received two new products for her to try out. She initially loved the Sea Squirts Swim Assist, which is a neoprene vest with removable floatation panels. What is really cool about this swim vest is that it has a fin on the back and she looked like a little pink dolphin swimming around in our pool!

Once she tried the Power Swimr, though, that became her favorite SwimWays product of the summer. She wears it all the time! It consists of two pads - one on the abdomen and one on the back - which also have removable floatation pads to advance swimming ability at your child's pace. As soon as she puts that on, she is jumping in and swimming around like a pro!

I am absolutely amazed at how far Rylie has come this summer, and I am so very proud of her! She is still a little fearful of swimming without a floatation device, but she can do it. Just check this out...

There is no way she would have even attempted that three months ago! And while she isn't quite ready for the Olympic team, I think with enough practice and a strong desire, those medals could be hers one day!

Bryce is still loving his SwimWays Swim Vest, but he isn't quite ready to move up to that next step. He jumps in and swims around just as fast as little legs will allow him, but hasn't quite gotten that swimming position down yet. It won't take long, though. I'm sure by next summer these posts will be about how far he has come!

Speaking of Swim Steps, @SwimWays will be hosting a Swim Steps Twitter Party on Thursday, August 9th from from 8-9PM EST. Join SwimWays for a conversation about teaching kids to swim and water safety with special guest and swimming expert, Mario Vittone! This party will be informative and lots of fun. And of course there will be prizes!!!

Head over to the Swim Steps Twitter Party event page on Facebook to learn more about the party and to RSVP. You can find out how to win a prize before the party even starts! I am planning to join the party, so I hope to see you there!

Disclosure: All opinions are my own. I was selected as a SwimWays Ambassador for the 2012 summer season, and received products at no cost during the program.