Gym, Swim, and Violin

For 6 months the kids had been asking to take a gymnastics class. We found a gym near our house and signed up to take the class with our good friends the Cherny's. It has turned out to be the kids favorite activity. The teachers there are amazing, they have endless energy and love working with the kids. Willem, Ellie, Ben and Belle were the only kids in the class most of the time.

Willem is working his way through the twinkles. He's eager to learn Twinkle Theme and can be quite distracted during his lessons but he really enjoys playing once a song gets easier.

We decided to start the kids back in swim lessons in hopes that they would both be able to swim independently by the Summer.

I was sad not to do the mommy and me class with Ellie but she loved her semi-private lessons. Audrey and I watched from the side and Ellie would wave to us to make sure we were watching.

 

 

 

After a couple of months we decided to stop lessons for now and wait until the pools got warm enough to swim. The kids were sad but they've been enjoying gymnastics so much we decided to keep going with that instead. Bringing 3 kids to swim lessons was a bit too much for me for now.

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Ellie is showing interest in playing the violin. She wants to do everything Willem is doing but I'm not ready yet. Have been trying to have her be our special helper at certain times in the lessons. She's also learning the rest position song. She loves singing so it's right up her alley.

 

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I feel like this Winter was an act of us figuring out what works for our family now that we're a family of 5. At times we were way too busy and harried but by February we got into a good rhythm and found what worked for us. Having my Mom home still kept me sane and let us do a lot of fun activities as a family.

Playing in the Snow

We are still newbies to Arizona but one thing that many Phoenicians take part in each year is driving up to Flagstaff to play in the snow. This year we made our inaugural trip up to Wing Mountain to hit the slopes. We planned the trip with the Bertolinos and Baldwins which made it 3 x as fun. Julie was in town as well so she and Mom joined in on the fun which made for plenty of Audrey holders.


From our years in Iowa I was triple prepared. My kids were dressed warm enough for Alaska and it ended up being 40+ degrees that day so by the end they were just wearing sweaters.

Ellie loved sledding! She and Jason went down a steep slope and she asked to do it again. There are no pictures of Willem sledding because he quickly ditched us and went down by himself the entire time. Audrey mostly snuggled in my Ergo and then Tia Julie took over so I could sled with Jason and Ellie.

The snow was a little soft for snowman making but that didn't hold us back.

 

 

It was such a treat to have Julie there with us. Hopefully we can make this an annual tradition.

Ellie and Mommy Day

Jason had planned to be on vacation this week and was going to Co-Op in Ellie's class but as we've learned over the last 4 years things change and we just have to roll with it.

Being the Mommy Helper at school is always fun and although it was hard to part from Audrey for the morning, it was just what Ellie and I were needing. Ellie's been amazing at adjusting to Audrey being around but some special time together was definitely in order.


Ellie truly loves school and it makes me so happy to see her playing with her friends and being in her element. She has such a joyful presence.

 

Tubby the Tuba

The Phoenix Symphony puts on a really cool Family Series throughout the year. We found a deal on tickets through Craigslist and took Willem and Ellie to Tubby the Tuba. Before the show there were tons of activities like the instrument petting zoo and a craft table.
 

Ironically the kids wanted to try the violin and the bass. The bass was a hit!

 

The show was about all the instruments in the orchestra and the important role they play. The kids did great for it being their first show.

Audrey is 2 months old!

 

Her new friend the monkey:)

 

First shots. She did great!

First bath in the big tub. She was kicking around and loved being with her big sister.

 

 

Audrey's morning view.

Willem's 1st Field Trip on a Bus

Willem's teacher this year is amazing! She has gone above and beyond to get all the 4 and 5 year olds reading and to provide amazing opportunities for the kids outside of the classroom as well. She did a class field trip to the Higley Performing Arts Center for an event called Building Bridges where Steve Chapin came and sang a number of songs he's written over the years about peace, being kids to each other and the earth  and acceptance. Once the show began it became clear that the teacher had taught Willem's class these songs and sign language to go along with two of them. There was a song about what makes up a family that was so touching and to watch the kids do sign language along with it was really moving.

This cutie pie let me sit next to him on the way there but was too cool to sit with Mom on the way back. What a social butterfly he has become!!!

 

 

Enjoying the afternoon off school with his baby sister. We both were going through Audrey withdrawal:)

Christmas Break

Over Christmas Break our cousins from Louisiana came to visit. What a treat! While they were in town we took all the kids bowling. Audrey slept through most of the festivities and was thoroughly ooh'd and ahh'd over by her girl cousins when she was awake. 

 

Another day we caught up with the Baldwins at Skypark. The kids had a great time jumping around and even got Deanne and I out there to do Marshmallow Jello and chase them around. School breaks rock!