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. 

Happy Valentine's Day

. . . in pictures

First Strings Concert

Savannah has added another instrument to her list.  She currently plays the violin for her school's strings program.  This is her first year so she is still working on pretty basic skills.  She is ahead of the other kids since she can read music.  This makes the violin low stress and less of a time commitment.  She will have to decide if she wants to stick with it in the years to come.  For now, it is just fun playing a string instrument. 

Here are some pictures from her first concert.  I have to say, the man that organizes all of the third graders (all playing strings for the first time) is amazing.  He made the concert fun and lively and they didn't sound bad at all.  I was amazed at how it all came together. 

The First Sleepover

I finally caved and let Savannah have a sleepover.  We are well behind the curve with this and many other areas.  It seems that 9 is as far as we can blissfully stay behind the curve while thinking our kid doesn't mind.   She minds now.  Not that she is annoying and rude about how she stacks up against her peers but she does let us know where she would like to see some changes.  Sleepovers was one of those changes.

After playing with a friend one Saturday evening, I invited the friend over for a sleepover.  Savannah was shocked.  As like most sleepovers, there was little sleeping!  This is what I found the next day. 

  

The twins are dying to have a sleepover of their own.  I try to explain that they are only 6 and need to wait until they are 9.  Somehow, I don't think I will be able to wait that long.  Just like I think Miss Lila might have her ears pierced sooner than later.  

 

Baby Tidbits

Here are some thoughts and quotes regarding Miss Baby Girl.

Adeline. . .
How is the baby going to get out of your tummy?  Is going to crawl out? (meaning how is going to get out after the doctor makes the incision for the c-section?)

Lila. . .

Wow, your belly is soooo big.  Your belly button is flat!  I know why those. . . "What do you call the things I used to call circles?". . .are getting bigger.  They are full of milk!  Remember when I used to think that one had milk and one had apple juice?

I DO NOT want to be in the room when you have the baby.  Yuck!  Isn't it going to hurt you?

Savannah. . .

Your belly looks like you swallowed a ball.

You better enjoy sleeping now.

I also should mention that she has come up with the name Sadie Claire which is good material.  Especially, coming from a 9 year old.  I love that she gets what kind of names we like.  She is on pins and needles because we won't give her one tiny clue about the name.  I hope she likes it!


We put the crib up which makes it real for everyone.  The color in this picture is much more dramatic than in real life but I was using my phone.  This poor child may never have a real picture taken of her now that the phones make photographing so easy.