Our anniversary.

We had a great anniversary!

We spent the morning doing stuff around house with the kids and then Matt and Andrew took off while I showered and Katherine & Caleb played together. Katherine had a private gymnastics lesson at 1, and when Matt wasn't home at 12:15 I began to wonder where he was. I finally got a hold of him at 12:30 only to find out he was out in West Des Moines. Great..... Since there's no way he could be home in 5 minutes, so Katherine and I could get down to Chow's by 1, we decided to meet in the middle and head down there together.

Her lesson went well. She's learning a ton of new skills (on floor -- front and back handsprings, front flips, and front walkovers. On bars -- front hip circles and kips. On beam -- cartwheels, handstands and different dismounts) and perfecting the skills she's been working on. It amazes me... She doesn't mind the criticism. In fact, she thrives in the quest for perfection. She doesn't mind her coach moving her head ever so slightly, constantly making tiny adjustments to her fingers and toes and pushing her out of her comfort zone. I will say this... Little Katherine fears NOTHING. She's not afraid of falling. She's not afraid of getting hurt. She'll do crunches and squat jumps to the point that I fear that she'll puke. She loves every moment she's in the gym. As a parent, the conditioning and training process can be tough to watch at times. After all, this is my baby girl and as much as I want to coddle her -- they don't. They don't treat any of these girls with "kid gloves". I've seen many of the team or "team track" girls in tears over the past year. Some have quit, and I'm sure many more have wanted to over that time. So far, Katherine is in love with everything gymnastics. She watches the team girls in awe and will do anything they ask of her to make sure she makes it all the way. She tells everyone that Level 10 is not her goal -- she's going to be an elite gymnast someday.

Anyway....

I sat up on the balcony watching her with tears in my eyes. It doesn't seem like that long ago that she was taking gymnastics at Urbandale and Mr. Tarry was gushing over how good she'd become someday. At that time, she was a little girl full of energy and determination. She had big dreams and tons of confidence. She was constantly giddy.... literally jumping around the gym with a smile on her face. The smile, energy and determination are still there, but it's different now. She walks around the gym with her head held high, her back straight and her arms at her side. She knows she belongs there. She's earned it. Looking back, Mr. Tarry was more of a playmate who taught her cool stuff in the gym. At Chow's, she has a new found respect for her coaches. They are people who she listens to and respects.... and she'll do anything they ask of her. It really hit me yesterday when I saw her in the gym-- she looked more like a young woman than a little girl. AAAAAAHHHHH....

When the lesson was over, Nicole (the Level 5 coach who also coached her TAG class last school year) came up to me and gave me a handwritten sheet with strength and conditioning exercises they'd like her to be working on at home. WHAT???? She's 6 years old and the fact that she has"gymnastics homework" seems silly/crazy to me! LOL!! We got talking and she told me that Li (Chow's wife) told her that Katherine "was a VERY special little girl with tons of talent". Evidently they have decided that Katherine's future at Chow's will be a long one and they can take her as high as she wants to go. Nicole told me that Katherine was everything they were looking for -- right body shape/size, great attitude, she'll do anything they ask, takes criticism well, makes any body/form corrections they ask, and doesn't have the "I'm the next Shawn Johnson" attitude. She's humble but confident; energetic yet controlled. She then started talking about pre-team and told me that most girls are in TOPS (Katherine's new class) for two years, but she doesn't see Katherine there for anywhere near that amount of time. They have big plans for my little girl! Katherine just stood there beaming and taking in every word Nicole said. She wants this so badly.....

Later that night, Matt and I had our first dinner out without Andrew. I've never felt comfortable leaving him with a babysitter (because yes, I am a control freak!! LOL!!) but our anniversary dinner out with friends seemed just the occasion! So when Mary Claire arrived, Matt and I took off to pick up Troy and Andrea. On the way there, he surprised me with some gorgeous bling! He bought me a beautiful 3 stone right hand ring and I LOVE IT!! Oh, and remember when he was late for Katherine's gymnastics lesson??? He and Andrew went over to Anglo and bought it. How sweet is that? I was shocked!! We had a nice night out, and then came home, put the kids to bed, and sat around the fire pit with Troy and Andrea and chatted. It was a really great night!!

So now I'm on the quest for the perfect birthday present for Matt. Anyone have any ideas???