Swimming

I am so proud of Abby! She just finished up her swimming lessons for this summer. She is diving down for rings (with a push from mom) and swimming 10-15 feet with her face in the water. She is my fish and will continue to improve with two more months of swimming at the neighborhood pool. Way to go kiddo!

Early in the swim lessons

Kaitlyn trying on the swim goggles

Save the Date

January 26, 2009

Baby #3 is on his/her way!

Happy Birthday Abby!

Our dear little Abby turns 4 on Tuesday! Boy, have those 4 years gone by fast! We are so lucky to have such a fun, spunky, and beautiful girl in our family. She brings so much joy and happiness into our home. We love you Abby and are so glad you are in our family!

Parties

Here are a few pictures from a friend birthday party and a family dinner/party. I realized I didn't take a lot at the family one. Guess I was busy doing other things and Todd had to leave for a flight. Gpa and Aunt Monica send us your pictures!

4th

A little late but oh well. Here are some of our pics from the 4th.

We started the day off with joining friends at a small town parade. It's Halloween for the kids. They just stand there and all the "floats" toss candy. Kaitlyn was pretty quick about opening some of those wrappers.

The night was spent at a fun little BBQ and of course fireworks. Abby sat back and enjoyed them while Kaitlyn covered her eyes and cried. I think it was the "booms" that scared her. She finally looked up towards the end.

Flip!

Abby has been so excited to go to gymnastics lately. Two weeks ago she was able to do a flip by herself on the rings. She is so proud of herself. Last night I finally remembered to bring the camera to capture the moment.


Flip! from sassy momma on Vimeo.

High School Musical

Last night I took Abby out for a mom and daughter date. Todd won tickets from his office to see "High School Musical". He did NOT want to go so Abby was my date. We had so much fun! I loved seeing her reaction to all the music and dancing. At the end there was a huge burst of confetti that came out over the audience and she just about died with how cool it was. She was even dancing in the aisle at the end. The lady sitting in front of us said afterwards that she loved hearing the comments from Abby- she enjoyed them more than the show. During one of the songs she loudly proclaimed, "This is so cool!"

I had to hurry and take a picture of Abby with my phone before the ushers saw or they would have confiscated it.

June Book Review

I listened to this one in the car on our trip as read by Stephen Colbert. There were some funny parts but nothing to really make me laugh too loud. It would be better to take the book in doses- maybe a chapter/topic at a time. I like watching the "Colbert Report" every now and then and I guess I was hoping for more. The book is Colbert's "views" on different topics- religion, family, sports, etc. I fell asleep a lot listening to this. If you really want to read it- borrow it from a friend or library. I give it 2 out of 5 stars.


This was our book club pick for the month. We felt that if we were having our kids home all summer we better be ready! The book is broken into two parts- the beginning goes over the theory and the second part is more the pearls- putting things into practice (potty training, chores, homework, sassing and disrespect, cleaning up, staying in bed, etc, were some of the topics covered).

The first part took me awhile to get through. I didn't agree with everything they said but there were a lot of good points to take- "thinking words" vs. "fighting words". I felt that after reading this I have been better about staying "cool headed" and not so quick to anger- (ah yes, more patience with kids). It's more about giving choices to our children - Would you like to get out of the bath now or in 5 minutes? Would you like to walk to the car or have me carry you (when your child is not cooperative)? I was familiar with Love and Logic a bit from teaching. Some schools use it as their discipline program.

Is it a cure all to all the problems- no. However, I did get some useful tips and pointers out of it. I give it 4 out of 5.