Mommys little cookie taster

Right before Christmas we got together with Shea, Grace, and Ella and make cookies. The girls had a blast. They turned out so well even with mounds of sprinkles.

Santas little helper

This was a huge year for Kaylie. She was so into helping with everything and anything Christmas related. One night Jason had Kaylie wrap the presents she bought for me so I had her do the same thing for hers. She did shockingly well with the cutting and taping of the presents. Once we finished with a present she picked the label she wanted and then wrote on it. It was so cute to see her enjoy the things associated with Christmas time and the spirit of giving.

Dance class

Deciding where to put Kaylie for dance was incredibly stressful for me. I have heard bad things about some of the local studios and didn't want to get somewhere and it be a terrible experience. Some studios will actually put the children in time out. I was not wanting that and it kept me from committing to sign her up.

The day I went to pick up her dance shoes I ran into a guy that suggested a place. I went that afternoon and checked it out and immediately fell in love with it. This studio has an hour class that incorporates ballet, tap, and tumble. Other dance studios do not have all three and are only 45 minutes long. Huge plus.

Everyone was so incredibly nice and instead of giving parents a tiny window for everyone to cram in to see their children they provide us with leather couches and t.v.'s to sit back comfortably and watch our kids. The teachers have been so loving to the kids and if someone is having an off day they will hold them, hug them, and make them see they are special vs. putting them in time out. This studio didn't have a dress code and that set it over the top. I hated that studios required 3 year olds to wear a specific outfit. The goal is to have fun and let the kids feel like little princesses while learning how to dance at the same time.

So...right before Christmas they had all of the parents in to watch the class so we could actually hear what was going on. Even though we could see it we were actually able to hear everything. I love that they do this for parents. It makes sitting outside the rest of the time that much easier. I loved watching her!!!

Swimming

Since it has been awhile since I posted swimming pictures I figured it was time for an update. These pictures were taking on 12/14. After the summer we continued with lessons in hopes that she will be a fluent swimmer come summer time. I have loved Emler and she has come a really long way. Her last class of this session is tomorrow (1/10) and we plan to continue on at least until the summer. Here are the things she can do as of now.

*swims 15 feet independently - they teach destination swimming so they have to tell the instructor where they are swimming too before they go. They teach this because a lot of problems occur when a child jumps in and doesn't know where they are going. They end up in the middle of the pool and freak out. This is such a great thing for them to learn.

*She also jumps in and they have them turn and go to the wall. This is another form of destination swimming. When they get to the wall they have to grab on and get out on their own. She does great with that.

*She is able to hold her breath for a good 15+ seconds and is actually starting to lift her head up to get a breath. They are working really hard on teaching them how to do a roll over breath. They said once the kids master this they will most likely take off. She is so close to getting it. She can get herself turned half way on her back and then needs a little extra help to get flat. Flipping back onto her stomach is easy for her. Once they flip back over they swim independently to the podium.

*This one surprises me. For some reason I thought this would be a huge battle. She can float. Floating for a child with little to no body fat is actually a difficult thing to do because the body fat is what keeps you afloat. It shocked me to see she didn't freak out when the water would start to come over her face. She stayed so calm.

*She is finally going down the big yellow slide and loves it. The first time she asked to do it I was skeptical. She went up the stairs and came down with the look of death but has asked to go down it ever since. Once they land in the water the instructor has them swim to the edge and get out on their own. She has come so far!!!

All of this is in preparation for her to do well over the summer. I wasn't able to relax this past summer so knowing she can do some of this takes a little bit of the stress off of me. Keep it up baby girl.

The next set of pictures show the progression of her "destination" swimming. She swam 15 ft. here. I the next session they have to swim 20+ ft.

Happy 87th birthday Papa

This year we went to Austin a few weeks early to celebrate Christmas as well as Papa's 87 th birthday. It was so nice to be with him to share in this special event. We love you Papa!!!

She loved helping mommy and daddy bring in the presents. Such a good little helper.

She loves Grandma's dog G. She talks about him all the time. They played together the entire time.

One of G's favorite toys. He was such a good boy even when he mistook one of Kaylie's toys for his.

I loved the look on her face. Don't know what she was thinking or doing but it was precious!

Tea time with Jo and Papa.

Giving G a kiss.