GymFest

Waaaaay back in June, as the kids were wrapping up their season of gymnastics, Leah and Adam wanted to participate in GymFest.  They begged, actually.  It wasn't horribly pricey (as many things at their gym can be), so we signed them up, and headed over on a Saturday morning of fun.

Or so we thought.  But when we realized it was basically a gymnastics competition for beginners, complete with score-assigning judges and hundreds (hundred?) of spectators, it got real intimidating pretty quick.

Each of the 15 or so girls that had signed up (ranging in ages from 5 to 12) performed a routine on the floor, beam, vault, and bars.  Leah's favorite routine was the beam, and she did a great job of it!

For the boys it was the horse, rings, parallel bars, and high bar.  Adam, being the non-competitive (somewhat oblivious) monkey that he is, had no problem performing and "competing" against one other little boy.  At the awards ceremony, the two boys took turns swapping between first and second place for each event.  Adam took the overall 1st place prize, which was so fun!  He got a ribbon for each event, and even a trophy!

And Leah swapped around between with the 15 girls for 4th, 5th, and 6th place.  There were several girls in each spot for each event.  When she first got close enough to talk to me, she said in a somewhat panicked tone, "Mommy, this is not at all like I thought it would be."  She thought it would be more of an open gym event, where she could walk around to each event and show me- and just me- the routines she had taken so much time and practice to learn.  But with a few encouraging words and hugs, she got back into the competition, and did great!  She finished the whole event, and came home with a stack of ribbons and a smile on her face.

And I was SO proud of both of them that day!  I think the excitement of summer and the end of school overtook the blog around that same time, and it's always nice to post about things that we do that are fun, and successful and areas in which we excel.  But this event was even more important than any of that, because in our family, we don't quit!  And we can do hard things! And the day of GymFest Leah and Adam both showed that they were willing to do something hard, even when it would have been easier to give up.  And that is definitely something worth blogging about!

A Walk in the Woods

The days fill up so quickly with have-to-do's, but one thing I couldn't let pass by this fall was a leaves-crunching walk through the woods at Ledges State Park.  We were finally able to squeeze it in after church yesterday, which meant dinner in the car and gave us only about an hour and half to run and jump and explore and climb and laugh together before the sun disappeared.

 And it was completely worth it.

It takes a little more effort to get to places like this here in Iowa, but I love it every time we do.  There is something so magical about trolling through the woods together, and my heart ached a little bit for Indiana yesterday, where wooded adventures were just a five or ten minute drive, not 45 minutes.  (And of course, we were reminded that we need to get these kids back into the Rocky Mountains as Noah insisted that I needed to carry him because "dees mountains are just too twicky!")

And even though it meant sleeping in a bit and having a rushed back-to-school morning, it was completely worth it to disappear into the autumn woods together last night.

A Happy Place

I wasn't sure how we were going to managed Leah's weekly symphony rehearsal in Des Moines, but we have found a very happy place to spend our time while she's practicing.  

Through this adorable "secret passageway" is the door to the library, which is right next door!  The kids immediately load up on piles of books, play with trains, puzzles and magnets (they haven't noticed the computers just yet), 

 occasionally get to pet a cat or dog, 

and then we hurry back to the performing arts center to pick Leah up.  The walk is plenty long when I'm lugging an Ikea-sized bag of books along with me, while also trying to navigate small children away from the busy city street, but for now, this trek is an absolute highlight of our week!

A Big Kid

Always with a book, a blanket and an alligator tucked in with him.... Noah is officially a big kid.  We gave the crib away this week, and swapped the bedrooms all around so that the boys are in one room, the girls are in another, and the third room is destined to become a library/guest room/room in which we shut the door and enjoy having tidy bedrooms even if there are books strewn alllll about in the room next door.

And oh, the joy of helping oneself out of bed and down the stairs after a good nap!

It's unbelievable!

 It's surprising!

 It's joyful!

 It's very satisfying.

And thus concludes our crib years... it's been nearly 10 years since tiny little Leah first laid in it, and now we're done.  That crib gave us many good memories, but this new stage is going to be a great one, too.

Things I Love

My daytime buddies- whether they're digging in some corn, 

 or plucking out some fluff, 

or giggling at themselves for cleverly stealing my spot in the chair (again) when it's time to read naptime stories.

We all agree that naptime is the best part of the day.

I love that Leah's orchestra practice is right next to the Des Moines city library, so we've found our favorite new place to spend the hour-

We have really been missing out with our little library in Ankeny- 

there are never dogs at our library!

 I love utensil bands.

 And days when creativity flows- this little fellow is the toilet monster.

 And this big fellow has a crazy hidden talent for free-handing just about anything I give him.

 

 It's fun for the kids too.

I love these big smiles- I got to help with fall parties today!

I love that the elementary school had a no-sales fundraiser this year- the Jag Jog route went right past our house but we weren't home to cheer the kids on.  We made signs, had friends take pictures, and made the kids reenact the big moment after school.

 

And Mr. Moss, the principal, dressed like a chicken because the school reached their fundraising goal.  What could be funnier to the 625 kids at the school than seeing their principal dressed like this?

 I love kids who have their own sense of style... kind of.  I pick my battles anyway.

I love twins!

  I love cool mornings when we turn on the fire and snuggle up together.  Fall is officially here!

Fruit Loops

This is why we rarely eat sugared cereal around here- I finally grabbed the camera after several verses of this silly song about the location of each family member.

He kept up this musical enthusiasm all day long!

Noah is Thu-Whee!

 

For Noah's 3rd birthday we went to the zoo!  It was a gorgeous day, the zoo was nearly empty, and we got to ride on the train!

 Our traditional giraffe pictures...

And off to the trains!  Trains are so magical when you're three.  It was the highlight of our trip.  That and the part when we saw a llama sneeze all over a baby's face.

 We spent the later part of the afternoon driving around to see the covered bridges of Madison County, in hopes that the birthday boy could catch a few winks, which he did. 

Then we took everyone to dinner at the scariest place in town- Zombie Burger (Mommy ran a 5k that morning and felt like a chocolate nutella marshmallow shake would be a great treat!).

And then we rode the escalators!  Up and down and up and down.

And admired the emoji pillows-sheesh- before finally heading home to bed. 

Noah's actual birthday was Sunday!

Yes, I pinned a note to his shirt that said "It's my birthday!" so everyone at church would know it was his special day.

Ah, the birthday cake.  An annual source of guilt for me, but Noah and his siblings truly love decorating his cake, and no one complains a bit that it's not as fancy as some of the cakes I've made in years past.  So I let it go again this year.  Noah had a very specific idea of where each of the Little Einsteins should go on the cake.

He was very happy with the end result.  And that's all that matters.

 We skyped with family, and then it was finally time to open presents!  

It was SO fun watching Noah open his gifts.  The first one was a package from Grandma and Grandpa that was shipped here in a festive bubble wrap package- he opened the package, took out the present and said, "OH WOW!!!"  A present within a present!  So fun!  The books, clothes, toys and especially the trains he received have been a HUGE hit with all of the kids- I love gifts that fit right in with our current family loves.  Everyone has been playing trains non-stop ever since.

It was a simple but perfect three year old birthday celebration. 

Oh Noah, you sweet little baby of mine.  I don't know if it's the fact that I've always had another baby to tend to by the time your brother and sisters were this age, but I really don't remember any of them being so much FUN!  You are the absolute joy of our family- nearly always in a cheerful mood, always making us laugh with your ideas and always insisting that you are not a baby- you are a BIG KID!  (But you'll always be my baby, just like Leah, Adam, and Emma are too.)

You love to play games- especially Mousetrap, Balloon Lagoon and Cariboo.  You love puzzles and trains and reading and reading and reading.  You can recognize letters and say their sounds nearly as well as Emma!  You dutifully take a nap (upwards of three hours long) every day, and while you've never shown any interest in graduating from your crib or your diapers, both of those milestones are just around the corner.

You are so aware of my moods- when I'm grouchy you ask, "Mama, you grouchy?"  

And I say no. 

And you say, "Mama, you grumpy?" 

And even if I am, you make me smile so I'm not grumpy anymore. 

You love to pet my hair and snuggle in my bed and you even remind me to put in your eardrops.  

You still have a head full of fluffy blond hair that I'm not sure I'll ever be able to say good-bye to.

You the sweetest baby/big kid we could have possibly asked for!

We love you!