Queen of the Scene on the Balance Beam...

That's what we have taken to calling her:) We picked a fun book from the library called "Queen of the Scene", and when M showed such skill on the balance beam, we made up our own title for her.

With 3 mornings a week free for her while B was in preschool, we decided to try a little parent/child gymnastics class to have something fun for her. Overall, it was a pleasant experience, and she definitely got to work on wonderful skills. She was pretty willing to try all of the different apparatuses and skills, though she absolutely refused to do anything with the help of the teacher, Coach Mike. She would do it for Mommy, though.


Near the end of the session, Daddy got to come visit and see a session. We got to show off her awesome uneven bar skillz, her excellent rings skillz, and her fabulous tumbling skillz:)




We enjoyed it, and now that it is finished, we will definitely miss the pretzel and lemonade that we used to always buy from a store in the mall after class, and I will miss my weekly workout!

Look What B Can Do!

He wasn't particularly convinced that he should try to take off the training wheels, but he has been riding perfectly with training wheels for ages, and last year, used a balance bike (like a regular bike but without pedals) with ease, so we figured that since he knew how to pedal and he knew how to balance, it was time to try to put the 2 together.

In late May, we found a nice evening, planned a picnic dinner for one of the local parks that is very long and very flat, and got ourselves ready.


Aaron had lots of helpers for taking off the training wheels.

B pretty much got it on his first try...he was a little aprehensive, and liked to have help getting started, but was ready for us to let go and have him just ride within a very short time period.

M was his biggest fan:), and zoomed around the park on her tricycle all evening, too.

By the end of the evening, he was taking off and zooming around the park independently. The kids and I went back the next morning to try again, and he was a bit nervous at first, but quickly got back into the swing of things, and is now an excellent bike-rider!

Go B!!

Big Day:)

Today we achieved a great milestone! Sure, it is one that, down the road, will fade from the list of important achievements. However, today it is a big step for a 5-yr-old and for our family.

B graduated preschool! :) We knew he could do it!

And honestly, of course we knew he could do it, but I am still going to take a moment to bask in hitting this milestone. As a speech-therapist, I have worked throughout my career with a huge number of kids who struggle every day with mastering even the most basic of preschool concepts, and it is such a blessing for us in this family that preschool was not a struggle, but a wonderful opportunity that we could financially afford to provide, and B could benefit from and enjoy!

Two years ago, he was an anxious, shy 3-yr-old. Today, he was a beaming, happy almost-Kindergartener.

His teachers, Ms Linda and Ms Amy are excellent at what they do, and really helped him to come out of his shyness and to learn how to engage other kids and make his way socially.

This preschool class was a great group of kids, and we are so excited that a couple of his good friends are going to be going to Kindergarten with him.

It was a special treat that Aunt Riri, and cousins A and E could be with us today!

We are so proud of the little graduate. Seeing the progress he has made over the last 2 years has been wonderful. He has been able to try out a little bit of the world outside this home in a safe, supportive environment. And he is totally ready for Kindergarten, as far as skills go.

Congratulations, B!