The Case of the Balance Beam and the Daredevil

I decided to sign the girls up for gymnastic classes at The Little Gym. Sammi had taken them a couple years ago but she was in desperate need for more classes. Her favorite thing in the entire world is jumping, flipping, balancing, cartwheels, hand stands which is exactly what this class is all about. She loves the balance beam.

Today in class they were supposed to walk to the end of the balance beam and WITH THE HELP of the teacher do a back tuck off the beam. Now I would like to note that I have emphasized the words "with the help" because Sammi is pretty independent. I would also like to note that this is a legit balance beam. It is probably a couple feet off the ground which is a pretty intimidating height for a three year old.

I was watching through the big glass windows with MaddiLu as Sammi was doing her little walk and flip. It was pretty impressive. The second time however Sammi got to the end of the beam and brushed off the teacher indicating she would like to jump off herself. Well the teacher assumed that Sammi would just make a regular jump off the beam. She obviously didn't know my kid. Sammi full on nosedives off the end of the balance beam in an ill-fated attempt to front flip off the beam. The teachers face was in shock as she yelled "Sammi!" so loud I heard it from behind the glass. The other parents watched and gasped in surprise. I explained quite loudly, "Oh my gosh!" Sammi just jumped right up after her face plant. For those of you needing a visual it looked like some sort of belly flop/taking a bow combination. Now I can look back on this moment as quite funny as she was really going for the front flip. All the other parents commented on how she was quite a daredevil. So true...

On the drive home I asked Sammi what happened on the beam and she said simply, "I tried to flip of the balance beam." I asked her how that worked out and she said, "Not good. I fell on my face." Poor kid but I have to say it took some guts to attempt which makes me a little proud even if it took a few years off my life.

Seeing Double

So as any Mom would I have saved some of Sammi's clothes for MaddiLu. Well this is quite a money saver but I have to admit every time Maddi wears one of Sammi's old outfits or pajamas I get a little weepy inside. I am sad cause I can't believe Maddi is growing so fast and has already grown into Sammi's clothes. I also feel all nostalgic cause it seemed like just yesterday Sammi was wearing it. So I busted out a pair of old fleece pajamas the other day and of course this same feeling washed over me again. Kids really do grow up too fast. So here is a picture of Sammi and Maddi wearing the same pair of pajamas....

                                    Sammi 17 months      MaddiLu 14 months

I would also love to point out  that poor Maddi has no hair by comparison...

Happy New Year!

Okay, once upon a time I actually kinda sorta almost kept this blog up to date...It is obvious I have been slacking off big time. I didn't do a Christmas letter this year either so in an attempt to update my blog and keep a record of 2012 I will now post my version of a Christmas letter here on my blog:

Happy New Year!

I hope that 2012 was as wonderful for all of you as it was for us!

Madeline is 14 months old and had a whole year of firsts! She really has the sweetest personality and she brings so much joy into our lives. This year she learned to roll over, crawl, walk and run. She loves to dance especially to Bob Marley and anything Motown. She loves to laugh and no one can make her laugh quite as hard as her big sister Sammi. She has discovered her belly button and loves to find it and of course she laughs. She is a Daddy's girl and will wander the house looking for him. When she finds him she again laughs. She loves raisins and putting on shoes.

Samantha is 3, which is something she is not at all shy about sharing with people. She has loved being a big sister and tells everyone she meets that she has a baby sister, "Maddi Luga!" No one quite knows why she has nicknamed her "Maddi Luga" but she has. Sammi is so talkative and has the best imagination. She has a two sets of imaginary friends, the "Boys" and the "Girls." The Girls are sweet and the Boys are the ones who do all the naughty things. If something is as mess she tells me that the Boys did it. Sammi loves to tell us her dreams and tells pretty elaborate stories before bedtime. This year she learned to do a handstand and loves to do flips and "moves" as she calls them. She has gotten very independent and loves to do things herself. She loves animals and playing games like Go Fish, Hide and Seek, and make believe. She has a laughing everyday.

Aubree turned 12 this year and is growing into a very grown up young lady. This year she loved school shopping and included in her school clothes this year were things like earings, nail polish and headbands. She loved anything that had a zebra print or neon colors. She spends most of her time in Ferrron these days but we miss her everyday.

Tim and I are not sharing with you our ages, and we always get the most boring entries in these updates. Most of our lives revolve around our kids, work, house and kids. Oh and don't forget our kids. Tim has his weekly bowling league and had a high score of 255 and which I find quite impressive. If I break 100 I feel fantastic. I know that I have been running around chasing two kids and definitely not updating my blog (sorry).

My two brothers had big years though. Nate came home from his mission in May from Seoul, South Korea. We were all so excited to have him back. He came back more mature and loving kimchi. Zac just got engaged after Christmas in Hawaii to Hailey! We are so excited for them cause she is about the sweetest ever and we can't wait to start calling her "Aunt Hailey."

I see great things happening in 2013! Hope you guys do too!