Super fast!

That's how brief it was.

We met them at the Oregon Gardens on Saturday.

Went to the Saturday Market (on Sunday's too) on Sunday.

The girls showed off some talent at the Circuit Climbing Gym and then at their gymnastics class on Monday (and Emma played hookie from school to do so).

We said our goodbyes as they headed off and on their way Tuesday morning.

We hope Nana Barbie and Papa Tom had fun while they were here!

skin the cat?... ew!

Emma and Sophie are taking a gymnastics class together on Tuesday evenings this summer. It's with teacher Lisa, who is much loved by little Sophie. It's not a class high in challenge, rather a self-led class with parent participation (suitable for the age range, although not challenging to Emma). I chose the class because I thought the girls would enjoy something together now that Sophie was old enough. They do. We will go back to the classes more suitable for Emma in the fall. But we still hoped she would learn something new. She did.
Emma loves the high bar (although the one small enough for her hand to wrap around is rather low). She puts her knees over it and hangs upside down. If you hold her knees, she will let go and touch the ground. But she always came down the same way she goes up. We thought she would like to flip - ie - skin the cat. Teacher Lisa showed her once, and she got it with a big grin.
Now my girl has a new trick.
And Sophie - well, she still shows her skills all over the place. She walks the balance beam (the little one, and Emma walks the big one by herself) by herself, she loves to hang from the bar (another skin the cat in our future?), and she is an expert at sommersaults. Both girls adore the trampoline time at the end of class.

spring wardrobe

I have been working on some things for the girls for spring. Emma is easy because she really likes skirts. The hardest part is picking out fabrics that we both like. I rarely take her to the fabric store with me - she would immediately pick out something not quite right... like hot pink satin, or something. Anyhow, I made her one of these skirts for her birthday, you may remember it - and she does wear it now and likes it a lot. Since the pattern worked so well, I decided to try it again. This time with purple - and again, success. So, this is ruffle skirt number 2. I still need to try this in Sophie's size.

The other recent addition to Emma's wardrobe is this tunic from an etsy pattern - Leila and Ben's Sweet Little Dress. I love it. However - I initially made the dress for her, following the pattern and I didn't like the muu-muu effect it was having. So, I cut off about four inches and added some trim and now she has a very cute tunic. Emma calls it a bothnic. Here is why (you will be so impressed by how smart she is)... This garment started out as a dress, but then it became a tunic - so, it's a "bothnic" - both a dress and a tunic. I love her logic. I am certain that I used some of it when I was a kid too.

Next up on the sewing list - something from below.

A skirt for mama

Kitchen curtains

A bothnic for Sophie (update: finished, hopefully a photograph the next time she wears it)

A summer bag for mama

And, I really wish I had something to knit right now. But, I just don't, and even though there are several things I want to knit - I don't have the yarn, haven't been to a yarn shop in a while, and I can't decide which project to start first. I'm sure I will get to something soon though... something small that I can work on in the backyard while the girls play (we're getting closer, right?).

One last thing - Emma and Sophie had their last gymnastics classes this week. We are hoping to get into the spring sessions in a couple of weeks, but we are stuck on a waitlist for now. Sophie can walk the entire length of the balance beam and jump off at the end - impressing many a mama at the class. Emma has become so much braver these days - she hangs upside down on the bar and lets go with her hands to touch the ground. Very brave!

It's Emma's turn

Emma has a gymnastics class too. And she loves it, in a different way from Sophie. I think Emma really tries to do everything the teachers ask of her, and she puts forth a little extra effort when she catches you watching her. It's good. She likes everything and her comfort on the balance beam has improved greatly. She used to be very tentative on it, now she works at it and uses her arms for balance and everything - just like they show her. These pictures are from her class yesterday - obviously enjoying herself.

She jumps, and jumps...

Really, it looks like she loves the balance beam. Maybe that is true, but for now I am convinced she just likes the jumping off part. Anything that ends with a jump is good for Sophie. I'm just thrilled she has somewhere to do all of this jumping...it gets a little scary around here sometimes. She really likes to jump. We hear the thuds of her jumping all the time. Then we wait for a cry - no cry, oh - Sophie must be jumping again. Okay, carry on. It's much more fun and relaxing for this momma when Sophie gets to jump in a "jumping-is-expected-so-we-designed-this-place-for-it" environment. That, and we don't ever decorate our home with fragile stuff. Even picture frames - they stay on the wall. We know better.

I realized this morning that I hadn't taken any pictures of this little monkey doing her thing and decided it was time. But, I also need to get these same pictures of Emma in her classes. Maybe next week.

I have to tell one more story. Sophie got out of the shower this morning and insisted on panties instead of a pullup. Dad hooked her up, and I completely forgot about it. About two hours later we find ourselves face to face with ballet tutus - this is important. Sophie and I were admiring them and talking about how she gets to have one of her own and take a ballet class once she is done with diapers and pullups. All of a sudden - I sound like this: "Holy cow! You're wearing panties!" I completely forgot. So, we bust a move on over to the bathroom and she does a little business, then we head off to her gymnastics class. After class, she did a little more business too. Then, she insisted on coming home to have some ice cream for her special treat. Phew!