Ode to Laney

As you all know, Laney is my spirited child. I say spirited because if she does not believe you are right or doesn't like what you are doing, oh my...watch out! I always joked she was my Jekyll & Hyde kid.

Today was the day of all days for her! The kids & I decided to go to Connor Prairie. The first hour was wonderful. We made jump ropes, made bracelets, played in the kitchen, etc. I was talking to a very sweet mom about how life has calmed down and the three of them seem to be in good development stages (aka Matthew is out of his screaming for everything phase...he is trying to use his words..imagine that?).

Well, literally, 3 minutes after this wonderful motherly moment Laney went downhill. I think it started over a toy Ella was playing with and Laney wanted it. Ella took her 2 minutes with the toy and then passed it over to Laney. Laney wasn't having sloppy seconds and within a few minutes of throwing a fit, she was yelling at the top of her lungs, "My mom is so bossy. I am not acting rude, she is acting rude." The moms were looking around like who's kid is this? Not in a "terrible mom" way but rather a "poor mom" way. Well, I tried to put her in a time out but we were well beyond that point.

I took her to the car screaming while Matthew was crying (because he had to leave). I felt so sorry for MJ and Ella as they both wanted to stay and Ella even brought her money to buy something from the store. Ella understood (thank God!) and helped me with Matthew and Laney.

As we get in the car, Laney continues to scream, kick, punch...blah, blah, blah. Fast forward one hour and she is back to her happy self. Really, Laney? I am proud I kept myself together during this incident and didn't get upset. I really just wanted to play with Ella and MJ and ignore Laney but alas, had to step up and be a mama.

After we dropped Ella off at Kindergarten I got the mail. This is what was in the mail:

Dear Mom & Dad,

What I love about you are your hugs.

I know under those screams she loves me but I will be glad when these fits aren't so often :)

World's Largest Snowman

*Pictures taken last week. It is warmer today (yay!) so snowman is slowly melting but boy did the kids have fun!*

Jen told J he had to be FUELED BY ADVOCARE in order to build this. That Jen, she is too funny (and rather smart).

Zumba!

Last weekend, Ella took a Zumba class with her friend Amanda (on the left) and Amanda's sister, Ella. You would never guess those two are sisters would you? ;)

The class started at the Hamilton County Sports Complex at 11:15. Ella was so excited to do a class like Mom does (I do Zumba at the gym from time to time).

After 45 minutes of practice, the parents come back in and watch the routine. It was adorable! There were about 10 girls in the class (probably ages 4-7).
Many girls go every week but you can pay by the class. We will probably do this again and what is nice is you can decide to do the class at the last minute (you can sign up there). What a fun activity during this cold weather!

Sorry for the blackmail

Ella wanted to show he was in a princess pull-up

This is how I usually find him...dancing on the table and yes, pulling on the light fixture.

Love you little man!

Basketball

A few weeks ago, Ella's basketball season ended. She had such a great time! I was a little nervous because she said she was the only 5 year old but no worries, her friend Amanda was with her. They worked on bounce passes, shooting, dribbling, the basics.

This last practice they had a scrimmage. Ella & Amanda were more interested in holding hands and laughing than actually playing but it was a great start :)







Getting her medal

Stuck

It looks pretty, right?
Nothing like 1-2" of straight ice covered by a thin layer of snow

At least it created some fun scenery to shoot
We just watched this icicle grow and grow

For three days, we have been stuck inside. School and preschool have been canceled, the gym has been closed and the roads have been too slick to travel. And to top it off, Jason was stuck in Chicago the whole time so it was me and the kids.

The first day we spent from 10 AM-5PM with the Powells and a few hours with the Worthingtons so the day went quickly. The second day we did the same thing except we left the house (the other day everyone came here). It was a slick walk to our friend's house which had lots of kids crying on the ice--but we made it!

Thank goodness for Wii Dance, for reading, for games, and let's get serious--for TV :)

They all love Wii Dance



Ella to Dad: Sorry you are stuck

Pretty much the same face I had when I got the phone calls
that they kept canceling school

Checking to see if Dad was home yet

We made it! Please get here Spring!

Gymnastics

I decided a few weeks ago that the girls would benefit from being in gymnastics. They have taken ballet and although Ella enjoyed it, it was a bust for Laney. Both have really wanted to do gymnastics, and I was excited to get them enrolled.

We have typically gone to A + gymnastics and had been fairly happy with their classes. Well, they didn't have a time slot that worked for both girls at the same time so I checked with Devous where a few of our friends go. They had a 4-5 year old class that worked for us. I was a little worried that every body would be 4 and Ella would get bored but there are only 4 people in the class (Ella, Laney and sisters who are actually 6). It has been great! On the day I brought my camera the other two girls weren't there so Ella & Laney had their own class.

Their progress in 3 short weeks really has been fun to see. Ella has a cartwheel almost down and Laney has been walking on the beam like a rockstar. I am so proud of how well Laney is listening and how much Ella helps Laney when Laney doesn't know what to do next. It has been really good for both of them.

A fun story about Devous: the first week I asked a mom how she liked it. She said she liked it but the only negative she had heard was if the instructors see that your child has talent, they want you to come three times a week to help mold that talent. I started laughing--the girls have fun but I don't see any talent that needs to be molded three times a week :)

In the pictures and the videos you can see how the girls differ in their attitude towards gymnastics. Laney thought everything was funny or required drama and Ella really wanted to do her absolute best on everything. She has worked on cartwheels for 2 weeks and in this video you can see how she almost has it down!

Laney working on her squats with the french fry.
Ella doing a handstand.

Ooops...she started cracking up at herself.



Weeeeee

Miss Shannon examining Laney's injury.
Laney had fallen off the slide

Practicing running straight into the foam pit

Lightning fast speed

Cartwheel time
Ella has really improved!

I love this pic
Ella and Miss Shannon waiting for Laney to come out of the foam pit
Laney loves the foam pit and just stays in, throwing around the foam
Even Miss Shannon laughs at Laney's excitement



Laney negotiating with Miss Shannon about whether or not she can jump from the vault.