T Minus 7 Days!

And I thought this was a belly. . .

Considering I only made it to 27 weeks with the twins, it is understandable that I don't remember being this large! It has been nine years since I walked around with 45 extra pounds on me.  

I am ready to have this baby!  I am huge and swollen but thankful that I am still pregnant and not sitting in a NICU watching my baby fight for every breath.  This has been an amazing journey - a journey we never expected to take.

In honor of my last week of pregnancy, I thought I would put up a picture.  It isn't as clever as past pictures but life seems too busy and has no room for clever pictures!

We don't know how this child will change our family but we know she will.  We are nervous and excited at the same time.  One thing is for certain, we have been so darn lucky the past few years.  Life has been smooth and easy.  We have three wonderful girls who fill us up with love each and everyday.  We spend more hours together as a family than most with Alex working from home.  His job, my lack of a job and our loving kids are all such a blessing.  We know we will fall madly in love with girl #4 but for the moment, we are a little apprehensive about the change.  We have such a good thing going. . .

Yes, I know, it's only going to get better with baby girl #4.  I just need to hold her to fully digest the fact.  As I said, SEVEN MORE DAYS!!!

Date Night with Daddy

Lila Grace loves Chick-fil-a.  I can't say the same.  In fact, no one else in our family likes the place.  When our local Chick-fil-a announced they were hosting a date night with Daddy, I jumped on it.  It not only gave Lila some special Daddy time, it checked Chick-fil-a off of the "Mommy when can we go to" list.  It also, gave Lila some time with her friend Charlotte.  Alex and Byron made it a double date for the girls. 

They had a great time!  Where else can you go and be treated like royalty when in a fast-food restaurant?  She even came home with a carnation.  Check out her pretty arm!

First Sleepover Part Two

It's official.  Savannah had her first sleepover away from home.  It was fun for her and sad for us.  I was surprised at how strange it felt.  There was such a void.  Savannah was more than ready and I guess I wasn't.  Considering the girls stayed up until 2:00 am and were back awake at 6:00 am, I think I might wait awhile before she attends another one.  She came home and crashed for three hours.  Talk about a wasted Saturday!!

Gymnastics

It is hard to believe that another year of gymnastics is about to wind down.  It has been quite the year.  Savannah was promoted to pre-team which means she practices one and a half hours twice weekly.  It doesn't sound like that much but there is a 25 minute drive on either side of it which makes for a long day.  She doesn't care though.  She is determined to make the team.  We have no room in the schedule for a "team practice schedule," so I am thankful that she has many more skills to learn before she is considered for the team.  Savannah recognizes that she is taller than most of the girls out there and got a much later start (has only been doing gymnastics for one year).  She doesn't let this get her down.  She works very hard and is comfortable in her own skin when at practice.  I love the program.  They make all kids the feel like a million bucks.

The twins are on year two or three of gymnastics.  Is that sad when I can't remember these things?  They don't love it like Savannah but seem to have fun once they are in their class.  Neither girl is driven or pushes really hard to do more than what is required.  I have them in there for motor planning and strengthening.  Lila has come far this year.  She is starting to get command of her body.  Adeline will always be weak with tight legs.  You can see her limitations when she is working on specific skills.  Adeline is Adeline though and she takes everything in stride with a bright smile on her face.

Each February, the gymnastics program puts on a show for parents.  Her are some pictures and clips from the girls performances.  It was pretty cute but appears pretty abstract and choppy because I squeezed it all into one video.

Enjoy!

Lila's Swim Clinic

Lila just completed her last few weeks of swim.  She doesn't like it but has attended once a week for the majority of the school year.  This is one of those activities that we force her to do for motor planning purposes.  I can say that all of these "not so loved activities" are paying off.  She has changed so much this year.  The clumsy Lila is fading and being replaced with a girl who has better control and balance.  I see it in her dance class, especially.

Back to swim.  Lila was often one of two kids in her swim clinic this year which means she got a lot of individualized attention.  After weeks and weeks of swimming laps, she has declared herself as a butterfly girl.  Go figure.  The hardest stroke, and that's where my girl excels!?  Lila has an amazing dolphin kick.  She is still young to coordinate the breaths with the arms.  The arms alone are really hard for a kid her age.  Here is a brief clip.  She is in the far lane with the yellow swim cap.


 Here is another clip of her diving off the block. She wouldn't have anything to do with it back in October! She finishes out the lap but her stroke is confused. She just came off of butterfly stroke so she is using butterfly breathing instead of freestyle. Oh well!!  I am pretty pleased with this girl.