For my birthday last year, Leigh bought me an awesome baby-proof camera: it’s shockproof, waterproof, and takes pretty fab photos to boot. It really came into its own during our week in Cyprus, letting me capture Arthur’s love of being in the water.

He’s been a bit of a water baby since we first took him swimming when he was six weeks old. He loved to go underwater then, and loved it just as much in the pool at Paphos.

When we took him in the baby pool he kept trying to dunk himself! I was proud of the confidence he was showing, though it did obviously mean we had to keep a very close eye…

   

He enjoyed just paddling around in the shallow water too – it was great to be in a pool that was shallow enough for him to walk around in, and he really relished the freedom it gave him.

We also discovered a new game, where he clung on and rode on my back. I think we need a bit more practice before I’d be confident he wouldn’t dunk himself inadvertently (or in fact just dive off my back on purpose), but we had great fun anyway!

Despite having lots of fun playing in the pool, he wasn’t so convinced by the water in the sea. He did plenty of sea-swimming last summer, and when we went to the beach was desperate to paddle, wiggling his toes in the sand and letting the waves wash over them.

However when we ventured a little deeper he really wasn’t so sure. I guess the water was maybe a bit cold, but it was definitely warmer than the sea in Cornwall last year!

Since we’ve been home he’s been pointing at the Brixham sea and saying ‘Bader! Bader! Bader!’ (his preferred word for water, though he has pronounced it more accurately a couple of times). He’s obviously forgotten how cold it is already – I can’t wait till the air heats up a little bit so I can take him for a dip!