Today was our last mom and tot gymnastics class. When they turn three they get moved up to mini squirts. And since she will be three when they start the next mom and tot rotation, today was the day. The end of an era and I'm overwhelmed by the reality that my baby isn't a baby. Because Casey took today off (he turns 40 today, what?!) he got to join us for todays class. Yeah!
She loves gymnastics. She has the best time and I never have to battle to get her there. She has gotten so good at waiting her turn and following directions, especially when compared to last quarter. She loves the trampoline and the pit. Her forward somersaults are great but she's still working on her backward somersaults. But I think her favorite part is when she gets stamps on her hands and feet at the end of the day.
My cousin, Ashley and her three kids, Maile, Michael & Xander were back in town this week. Jenna has so much fun with them. All three of them. They are great kids and are really sweet to her. Jenna loves giving Xander loves...
...whether he wants them or not...
And of course, we spent a lot of time swimming again. Since we just spent the last week in swim lessons, it was nice for her to put some of it to practice. But the end of this week, swimming with them every day, she had made huge progress! And it so much more at ease, which is slightly worrisome because she thinks she can swim now. She just seems to have lost so much of the fear. It's a double edged sword, that loss of fear.
She loved taking turns to jump in the pool.
Keep an eye on this one - she's going to be famous one day. Mark my words.
We have spent the last two weeks in swim lessons. What a nightmare. We switched this year from the Washington Community Center and a mom and tot class to Dixie State College and a independent class. Casey and I had a lot of a discussion as to whether or not this was the right decision for us and for Jenna. Once she gets comfortable she's very outgoing, but at times it can take a while before she is at ease. She's definitely not one to just jump right into something. She sits back and gets the lay of the land and then on her terms she will eventually join in. She's also still very clingy and has some separation issues. For all of those reasons, we decided we should go ahead with the independent class. Heather Kearl's son, Russ, Morgan Dewey's daughter, Lexie, and Kacey Perry's daughter, Lauren, were all going to be in the class also so I thought that would help with Jenna's computability. That being said, I expected it to be difficult, I did not expect it to be so traumatic. In hind sight, I still think we may the right choice, but I know now for future events i.e. preschool to have very low expectations.
Day one Jenna screamed the entire hour and spend most of it on my lap crying.
Day One
Lauren Perry, ?, Lexie Dewey, and Russ Kearl
On day two, I wore my swim suit thinking maybe if I sat on the steps with her, we could ease her in. That was a giant fail. She screamed and screamed and would not let go of my neck. So I finally yanked her off my neck and left the pool area. It was awful! She was in the pool, abandoned and sobbing. I was just outside the pooling, peeking through the fence, sobbing. Nobody won. Heather finally gave her a fruit snack and bribed her into not crying.
So on day three, I brought cinnamon bears and fruit snacks. Dropped her and the treats off and left the pool area again. It's my understanding from those allowed to stay in the pool area by their children, that she cried for a while but then calmed down fairly quickly. She spent the entire day swimming with her cinnamon bear, like a little security blanket. And then there was Jasmine.
Meet Jasmine, our saving grace:
She spent the rest of the two week class doing one on one with Jenna. Though Jenna had to do everything all the other kids in the class were required to do, she just did it on her own.
During week two, I was finally able to stay in the pool area. Once we bribed her with treats, and she found Jasmine, she was fine. I was so glad I was able to watch her, get some pictures, cheer her on, and not be isolated in the car. Hooray for progress!
I love her sweet little friendship she has with Lexie. They were only born a month apart and they play so well together. Hallelujah!
P.S. How cute are her little ringlets?! So fun, now that she finally has some hair.
I have no experience in sewing, I have taken no classes, and I have read/watched no tutorials. I pretty much wing and hope that it turns out okay. And if it doesn't, oh well. But this month I have had a lot of opportunity to hone my mad skillz.
It started with bumper pads and a bed skirt for my dear friends nursery. I love how they turned out. Hope she does too!
I moved on to some curtains for our master bedroom. Jenna getting her hands on the scissors and slicing and dicing the fabric didn't deter me! I actually did use a tutorial on the curtains because I wanted to line them with black out fabric. I found a great one from House of the Hepworths. I learned each time. But I'm pleased with how they turned out
And lastly, I made a quilt top for Jenna for a lap quilt. I love this! It turned out just how I wanted and now I just need to get it quilted....
My brother, his wife, Jen and their two girls, Shiloh and Ashtyn came to St. George to visit us for a couple of days and it was pure joy! We had so much fun. We did a little time at the splash pad. Shiloh is a much bigger fan of the "splash" in splash pad than Jenna is and it cracks me up!
Then we hit up the carousal. Shiloh and Ashtyn not as big of fans as Jenna. They each have their favs.
Serious cuteness...
We did a little time at the local park where they had the sprinklers on (huh?) so we did some sprinkler running! It's the little things.
Ashy lovin' on Casey
Shiloh thought she should help Jenna with eating her soup.
And we went for a little walk up in Snow Canyon. The San Diego folks are a lot less accostumed to the heat and had a bit of a rough go...wimps. Actually it was sad watching those sweet little things struggle so.
Two of the best dads I know!
Utter cuteness!
Good-bye kisses for Shiloh. We will miss you terribly!
