Yesterday was our third gym & swim lesson. It’s gotten less chaotic since the first day, but not quite what I was envisioning. The gymnastics portion had 9 kids last week, and only 7 today. I feel like 7 is a much better number! I don’t see how you could expect an instructor to handle more than that. Savannah really seems to enjoy the gymnastics portion.

The swimming however – not so much. Last week, she abruptly started crying about halfway through. I ended up getting her and we left early. We never figured out why she was crying.

Then today she started crying almost immediately. It’s so weird – she is very excited about swimming beforehand, and willingly goes to the pool and sits on the side, but then starts crying wanting to go home. The instructor suggested I not let her see me, so I sat in the shadows. I was not sure if she could see me and I didn’t want to run the risk, so I just peeked at her every so often. When I went to get her when she was done, the instructor said she did okay and that afterward he talked to her about next time.

Anyway I’m disappointed… I don’t know why she’s responding like this, and I wonder if it was too much to do both at once. Well now I know for next time. :-)

Next week I’m going to remember to wear appropriate footwear so I can get my workout in while she’s in swimming. :-)

I have been meaning to enroll Savannah in some sort of lessons at the Y for ages now. I always seem to just miss the sign-ups! And I couldn’t decide between gymnastics and swimming. I knew she’d love gymnastics – she loves to be active, running and jumping and climbing. I also knew she’d love being in the water, and it’s very important to me that all my kids know how to swim.

I was really excited to see that our local Y offers a class called “Gym & Swim”. It’s 45 minutes of gymnastics and 45 minutes of swimming! And it was cheaper than the price of two separate classes. So I signed her up and today was her first day.

This weekend, I showed her YouTube videos of toddler gymnastics so she would have an idea of what to expect. She’s already familiar with swimming – I’ve taken her into the pool at the Y several times now and tried practicing the basics. She was sooo excited. The class wasn’t until 4:45, and all day she was begging to get dressed to leave. I don’t think she understood when I tried to explain that the class would still start at the same time no matter when we left. ;-)

We got there and she joined the other kids in the gym with the instructor. There were sooo many kids – like, 12. It was crazy and disorganized. Paul and I were both surprised that there was only one coach with that many preschoolers. Savannah enjoyed the obstacle course, but by the end of the 45 minutes she’d lost interest in the routines and just wanted to play. (It didn’t help that the coach was soo distracted that the line kept getting held up.)

When they were done, the coach came up and apologized. She said there was a misunderstanding and next week there won’t be as many children. She also said Savannah told her that her name was River, which confused her because she didn’t have a River signed up. We laughed and explained that it was her middle name, that her first name was what she went by.

After that was swimming. She was already in her suit, so we just walked through the locker room to get to the pool. I usually avoid this time of day because it is crazy-crazy with all the after school kids programs. Today was *no* different. The weird thing is that I completely lost track of all the kids who were in the gymnastics class. I spotted three of the girls, but I never did see anyone else. Everyone was coming and going – it was so crazy. The pool area was echoey and loud, and we stood there for a few minutes looking lost while I desperately searched for some of the other kids we had just been with 5 minutes ago so I’d know where to go. Finally I spotted a couple of girls, so I verified with the swim coach that it was the right place. He asked Savannah her name. We couldn’t hear her, but then he said, “River?” He looked to us for confirmation. We nodded and laughed. Sure, she’ll be River. (It was too loud to correct him.) We both thought it was really funny.

He only had those 4 girls so I was relieved it wasn’t going to be 12 kids to one coach like the gymnastics. That’s just dangerous in the water. He was really good with them, and Savannah (excuse me, River) practiced swimming. She was really upset when it was over and it was time to leave. I’m glad she had a good time. :-)

It was a gorgeous day today, so we stopped by the store for some dinner and went across the street to a playground. Savannah found some other kids and we ate and played. Caroline got her first ride in the swing! She laughed and kicked her cute little chubby legs.

Overall, a lovely day. I hope next week is better with the craziness and disorganization! Otherwise I’m going to be a little annoyed since I paid for the class…

My BFF Beth and I have a tradition of taking pictures of our kids at Cracker Barrel. It started with this picture, that we took for a cloth diaper photo contest (which we won):

March 2010

We went a while without taking another picture – we did stop at Cracker Barrel once, only to forget our camera in the car and by the time we were done eating it was too dark. After that, we started being a little more intentional about getting pictures.

May 2011

September 2011

(Then a bit of a break because we both had babies and tended to stay home when we visited each other.)

October 2012

February 2013

During this most recent visit, we decided to start the traditional pictures with our second borns as well. (Notice the shirt Caroline is wearing!)

And all the kids together… I love this picture so, so much.

One of my favorite DIY and home decor blogs is Young House Love. I’ve been following John & Sherry’s blog for several years now, and I feel like we’re all BFF’s. They recently wrote a book and have been going around the country on a book tour. The minute I found out they were coming to Atlanta, I immediately RSVP’d. My BFF Beth, who lives in Birmingham, is also a huge fan and decided it was definitely worth the trip.

Yesterday, Beth drove over and met us at Ikea. We put our girls in Smaland and got to wander around the store for a little bit before meeting Paul, who then took the two girls home while Beth and I (along with our babies Alex and Caroline) had dinner and went to the book signing. The line was SOOO long. We were actually near the end, and waited almost 3 hours. And I have to say – it was COLD. It had been raining most of the day, and the temps were in the mid 40s. It wasn’t so bad except when the wind would pick up. Brr! Bad day to forget my coat!

We were so excited when we first got a glimpse of John and Sherry! They’re real! I felt like a fan girl.

Proof I was there – I signed their guest book. My handwriting looks horrible because I was shaking from cold and from excitement, and was holding Caroline which made it harder.

And then… our turn was next! I was practicing what I was going to say to them when I got the chance. Then… they waved us over! Beth and I walked up and handed them our books. “Hi!” John and Sherry said to us. They were just as they appear in their blog. Warm, enthusiastic.

And me? I wasn’t expecting this… but I completely froze. My mind went blank. They asked me some questions, and I answered but no more. This isn’t like me! I never expected that I would be so starstruck that I wouldn’t say anything!

We took a picture together, and then moved on. It was over. I am sad that I couldn’t be warm and chatty back with them, but alas. I am so glad we went though! It was so much fun, and I loved hanging with Beth for that time.

Aren’t you jealous? I will treasure the book always. :-)

I’m “running” on the treadmill right now at the Y. My new year goal was to start back regularly, or I cancel my membership. We debated long and hard about whether it was worth the money since I go through long spurts of not using it, but I knew if I canceled it then I would never work out. So we decided that I need to go minimum of 8 times a month or I cancel it. Here’s to hoping that motivation helps me accomplish that goal!

Here’s me right now – hoping this picture works okay since I am not familiar with the WordPress app and how it handles stuff.

Fun fact: the sweatshirt I’m wearing was bought my freshman year at Taylor. I was completely unprepared for the cold weather of Indiana and only had a windbreaker with me. So I went to the campus bookstore and bought a sweatshirt. I am glad I bought it because I love it. :-) And when I went to my Grandma’s house for Thanksgiving that year, she bought me an actual coat and gloves and a hat. :-)