Swimming Dolphin...

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, Katherine is learning all about Native Americans and their clash with the white man. They've watched clips of the movie Dances With Wolves and discussed problems the characters faced and how they determined their Sioux names. Today, they came up with their own Sioux name -- there were only two requirements (i) it had to refer to something in nature and (ii) be about something they enjoyed. So, Katherine named herself Swimming Dolphin. Not sure how she came up with that name, but there you have it.... Swimming Dolphin. So if you see her in the next little while, you may refer to her by her new name!! LOL.

Final day...

In a few short hours we'll enter Urbandale for Katherine's final practice there. Where has the time gone???

I remember a year ago when Mr. Tarry was her coach and she was begging to enter the big gym, but couldn't quite yet because she wasn't even 5. Heck, a year ago now they wouldn't even let her do a bridge because she wasn't old enough. What a difference a year makes.....

In the past year, she graduated from the little gym to the big gym, went from the recreational program to the competitive, and started at Chows. A year later, she is on the verge of quitting Urbandale and joining the TAG team at Chows. She's about to embark on a wonderful life experience that will take her as far as she has the drive and ability to go.

When I think back to a year ago, the thought of leaving Urbandale didn't even cross my mind. Quite honestly, I thought we'd be there for a long time..... maybe forever. I remember Tarry pulling me aside one day and telling me that if Katherine still loved gymnastics when she turned 6, as much as she did at that time, then I should take her to Chows... he thought she had the talent, drive and strength to make it there, and since it's one of the best gyms in the country, I owed it to her to give her a shot. I remember thinking -- Why? She loves it here....

However, a year later, our lives took a huge turn. She had an after school activity 4 nights a week (which is insanely ridiculous for a kindergartner) and I was ready to scale back. That's when Li took a look at Katherine and offered her a spot on the TAG team.

So tonight is the final chapter in one way and a new beginning in another. It's saying goodbye to the comfortable and familiar, and embarking on a new journey that can take her as far as she wants to go. Tonight is definitely a time for reflection. I'll be sad to leave the friends she made, the coaches she adored, the gym that taught her so much, and the place where she fell in love with the sport. Urbandale will always be a sweet spot for all us. With that being said, she's on the verge of one of the most wonderful opportunities of her life. She's been given the chance to train in a gym with the best equipment, the best coaches and the the best chance to succeed. She will have all the tools to make it as far as she wants to go. But, it's the unknown..... I'm sure she'll grow to love and feel as comfortable there as she does at Urbandale, but it's still the unknown. Just yesterday she was asking me exactly what they would be doing in class. She can't wait to meet her new coach and wonders what she'll be like. It's all the unanswered questions....

Anyway, tonight is the final time..... the final time she'll enter the gym as a superbunny, the final time she'll call them her coaches, the final time she'll have these girls as teammates, the final time she'll practice there..... So as happy as we all are to be going to Chow's, I'm sure I'll be walking out tonight with a heavy heart and a tear in my eye. At least she'll get to compete in the meet there this weekend.

Random thougths...

I have so many things to blog about, but since it's it's late you get the short bullet point version!

1. Since Katherine is officially starting at Chow's next Tuesday and she wants to focus all of her time and energy on gymnastics, we decided to pull her out of dance. So, today on the way to Caleb's story time I made the call. I don't know why it hit me so hard, but pulling my only daughter out of dance nearly killed me. By the time I was off the phone, I had tears in my eyes and seriously questioned if I was doing the right thing. To make matters worse, one of the little girls in Caleb's story time was wearing a leotard. What are the odds??? Oh, and by the way, it was FREEZING here today, literally in the low 30's... Not exactly leotard weather! Was is a sign????

2. Friday night while we were eating dinner, one of my neighbors rang the doorbell. He was carrying a huge bouquet of flowers that was delivered to his house since we were gone and stopped to chat for a while. When he left I asked Matt why he sent flowers, and he quickly told me that they weren't from him. HHHHMMMMM..... They were for Little Miss Katherine. When we opened the card, it nearly took my breath away... Some of our neighbors got together and sent the flowers to Katherine as a congratulations for making the TAG team at Chow's. Wow... Just wow. Totally unnecessary, and very unexpected. It made her day and made me realize how truly blessed we are. There are people who love Katherine and celebrate in her success as much as we do.

I'll take a picture and post it soon!

3. Caleb constantly says stuff that just cracks me up. He's one of the funniest kids I know, and thinks of some of the most random stuff imaginable. Here's one from today.... We were sitting in the kitchen eating lunch, just chatting away, and we have this conversation:

Caleb: Where's Daddy?
Me: He's at work.
C: Why does he work?
Me: He works to make money... so you can have nice clothes to wear, good food to eat, a house to live in, and get to do lots of fun stuff.
C: Well.... I'm hungry for ice cream.
M: Well then, you need to eat your chicken first.
C: Well.... I'm hungry, so Daddy needs to work harder!!

4. Caleb has been addicted to his plug (pacifier) since birth. I don't know what it is about that thing, but man, he LOOOVES it! It's an Avent one, and he loves to flip the handle up on his nose, suck as hard as he can, and hum.... For some reason, it really soothes him so I had a hard time taking it away. Anyway, we had some friends over on Friday night and they absolutely *destroyed* the house. Every toy we own was dumped on the floor, so when it was time for bed, we couldn't find his beloved plug. We all looked for about 20 minutes, and finally Caleb went to bed without it. Shockingly enough, it's still gone, and we're on night number 4 without it..... and still alive.

Matt did find one in the bottom of the toy box, which he hid, but there's at least one more floating around the house somewhere. I can't find it for the life of me, but Caleb is POSITIVE that Libby will find it when she cleans tomorrow. He's still hoping to get that thing back and I don't have the heart to tell him that there's not a chance in the world!!

5. Andrew has turned a corner. All of a sudden, he seems to have realized that you sleep at night and are awake during the day! Let me tell you, that makes for one happy Momma!! Sunday night we went over to my sister's house for dinner, and my Mom wanted to hold him and talk to him all night long. She has the magical touch!! When we got home I fed him and put him to bed. He got up to eat three times, but wasn't awake for long stretches of time. Last night he got up twice -- once was for an hour, but other time, he just ate and then went to bed and then didn't get up until 7:30. Oh, happy day!! Hopefully tonight goes just as well.

6. I can't believe that I'm about to blog about sports, but....

I'm a Hawkeye fan by marriage. It's not that I don't root for them and hope they win, but I'd rather take a nap.... or scrapbook ....... or play with the kids ........ or chat on the phone ......... or go shopping ...... or hang with girlfriends (you get the idea) than sit idle for 3+ hours and watch them on TV. Besides, watching a game with Matt is nerve wracking. Literally, it's horrible. To be honest, I can't stand it. Now, for any of you Hawk fans, imagine my hubby watching the PSU game. Not pretty... So, I did what any loving wife would do... I handed him his sleeping 5 week old son while I cleaned and ran to the grocery store. *laugh* *snicker* *grin*

With about two minutes left in the game, I took Andrew back and we went upstairs. Right before the final play (in which the Hawks beat PSU), I heard him pacing on the main level (we don't have a TV on the this floor). The poor guy couldn't bear to watch the game. He couldn't even breathe... REALLY????? A football game? I'll never understand.........

Now -- I'm glad the Hawks won. Don't get me wrong, beating the #3 team in the country is great, but... didn't you kinda want to see old JoePa get a national title this year? Even Matt agreed........

fall pics

Last Sunday afternoon, Matt and I took the kids outside to play in the leaves and take a few pictures. Here's just a *few* of my favorites!!

pop quiz...

How do you know when your mastitis is really bad???

When you have to sleep sitting up because laying down is too painful.

I didn't sleep a wink. Literally......... YAAAWWWN..........

I want to cry!

I hate to whine about things, BUT.....

Last night when I was feeding Andrew, it was PAINFULLY OBVIOUS that I was getting my second bout of mastitis. I spent the night with tears rolling down my face from the pain of feeding him. I couldn't sleep at all and when the sun finally rose, I noticed blood on his little jammies. Unbelievable! Getting mastitis once is bad enough, but what did I do to deserve it twice?? UUUGH!

Anyway, instead of just calling in an antibiotic, my doctor wanted me to come in so he could take a peek. Oh. My. Goodness. Either you have mastitis or you don't... there's really not a lot of confusion here................. Thankfully my mom could come over and watch the kiddos, but man definitely NOT how I wanted to spend the day, especially since Katherine had the afternoon off and we had planned to celebrate her making the TAG team at Chows. Unfortunately, that'll have to wait for another day.

A new chapter....

Remember when I asked for good thoughts last week??? Well here's why....

Katherine is currently taking gymnastics at two different places -- Urbandale and Chows. At Urbandale she's in a class called Superbunnies, which is the start of their competitive program. She's really growing as a gymnast -- getting stronger, improving her form, learning routines, you know.... actually practicing gymnastics. However, this past summer two of her coaches quit and as a result, we believed that the program was in jeopardy. So I immediately called Chow's and enrolled her in the only class they'd take her for -- a recreational kindergarten class.

** As a side note, I asked if they'd evaluate her to see if she'd be eligible for their competitive program. It was a resounding NO. I was told that they didn't work that way and she had to start in the recreational program. So fine. I signed her up for the kindergarten class with the hope that she wouldn't have to stay in the class for that long. Oh, and I paid for a trimester which ends on 11/14.

Things at Urbandale worked out -- the coaches came back, the program is thriving, Katherine loves it. It's perfect. Oh, and the kindergarten class at Chow's is super elementary and Katherine is bored. Really bored.

Now -- the events of the last two weeks....

I found out that Chow's would be evaluating the rec girls (Katherine's class) in the next couple of weeks to determine if they were in the right class or if they were eligible to move up into a different class. Since it's impossible for me to talk with Katherine's teacher before or after class, I decided to call the gym. In a nutshell I wasn't given a good answer -- they had to talk to her teacher who wasn't in for a few days, and then the following week she had a substitute, so any questions I had couldn't be answered at that time. So I spent the past two weeks waiting for them to call. Today, I decided I was tired of waiting, and called again.

The girl I talked to told me that she had been meaning to call me and that yes, Katherine could be moved up to another class. They suggested that she be moved up to Beginner girls 1, but all the classes were full, so she'd be put on a "wait list". Not cool. Really not cool. Katherine is bored out of her mind in the rec class she's currently in, and paying $60/month for her to crawl through nylon tunnels isn't a good use of time or money. She didn't know when a spot would open, but would keep us in mind. Since I wasn't happy with the fact that Katherine could end up in the same rec class all year long, I decided to feel her out about any other options we might have. She told me that she'd do some checking and would call me back before she left for the day.

45 minutes later she called. Li (Chow's wife) wanted to see Katherine tonight and wondered if 7 would work for us. UUUUUMMMMMM, yea!

When we got there, Li was working the front desk, so I went up to introduce myself. I told her my name, and she instantly said, "Oh, yes! Katherine's mom. I hear she's very talented". A few minutes later she took Katherine into the gym while Matt and I watched from outside.

Literally, Katherine was in there for about 7 or 8 minutes. Li had her do the splits, a bridge to kick over, cartwheels, backward roll, handstands, walk on the beam on her tiptoes, a pullover on the bars, pull-ups on the bar, as many leg lifts as she could on the bar and then asked Katherine what the hardest skill she could do on the beam was. Katherine told her a somersault so she lifted her up on the high beam and let her have at it. Li gave Katherine several high 5's and when they emerged from the gym, they were both beaming. Li told me that Katherine would be a great fit for their talented and gifted (TAG) team and that she was super strong and flexible. I get the feeling that Li really didn't care what she could do skill wise ... she was more concerned that she was strong and flexible and that if she was, everything else would fall into place. She also made a point of telling me that this class was by invitation only, and that Katherine was exactly what they were looking for. Wow... Just wow. Katherine is elated. Literally she's on cloud nine, and hasn't stopped smiling yet. She told me that this is her dream..... I know I've said this before, but honestly, there is nothing in life more rewarding as a parent than finding your child's passion in life and allowing them to chase that dream. I don't know too many kids her age that have truly found what they love at 5 years old, but she has, and that is such a blessing. So as long as she wants to chase her dream, we'll support her -- physically, emotionally, and financially.

So... that leaves Urbandale. I have so many mixed feelings about it. Urbandale is where Katherine fell in love with gymnastics, it's where she's met so many wonderful people, had great coaches and made wonderful friends. It's where her confidence grew and her gymnastics skills improved. So if we decide to leave it's definitely bittersweet. In many ways, it's like breaking up, and I'm so not good at that....