Today was Ellie's first day back at the gym after summer break. She has been not-so-patiently waiting for this day to come ever since classes wrapped up in May. I thought around recital time that she might choose to go back to the dance studio instead, but it was obvious during the summer time that was a hard no. She has been watching gymnastics videos on YouTube and trying to perfect her back walk-over this summer. All I could do was close my eyes and hope she didn't injure herself. So today began her third year of gymnastics.
Ellie progressed so well in her class last year that she was promoted to the intermediate class. I have no idea what that really means except that she really loved her class today and felt like she really "did" gymnastics. The SEC Championship and NCAA Runner-Up trophies awarded to the LSU gymnastics team last season were on display today.
It's been awhile since I've shared Ellie-isms. So here are a few I collected over the summer.
We had some friends over to play one day during the summer. The kids always love playing hide-and-go-seek in the house. Ellie can hide the best because she's so small. I think Mason and Hannah Kate pretty much know where her "go-to" spots are, but our friends who come to play do not so they always have trouble finding her. It was one such day, and this is what she told me after they went home: Mom, can you believe he walked right in here and didn't know where I was at?! I got so tired of hiding. I knew he was never going to find me. So the next time he came in I had to say, "Cock-a-doodle-do," so he could find me! (Cock-a-doodle-do? I think she's confused with something else . . .)
One day she was rattling off to me about a game they were playing on the trampoline. She was explaining the three ways to play this particular game. Yeah, you can play the regular way. And then there's the new way. Or you can play it the old-fashioned way without talking. That's the HARDEST WAY for me to play! (And, can I just say, a truer word has never been spoken! At least she owns it! I mean, she's a chatter box ALL THE AFTERNOON LONG after I pick her up from school. It's like she's just bursting at the seams after having been quiet a large part of the morning.)
One day during the summer I purged the kids' closets. This is otherwise known as "donating" at our house. Mason's and Ellie's rooms got the biggest overhauls. I'd forgotten just how many "toys" were still in Mason's room that he never plays with anymore (because, teenager). So we made a trash pile, a save pile and a donate pile. One of the things we found was an old Stephen Joseph children's wallet he'd been given many years ago. It's blue and green with a tiger appliquéd on it. Ellie picked it up and asked if she could have it. I told her she could, and she walked around with that thing in her purse for the next month. One day shortly thereafter, she walked into the kitchen while I was preparing lunch. Mom, I feel so grown up now. I mean, I can make my own egg. I can make my own sandwich. And I have my own wallet!
And then there was the day the first week of school that I picked her up, and she was so excited that her beloved 1st grade teacher had asked her about her summer. Yeah, Mom, and when Mrs. Mitchell asked me about my summer, I told her that we had an alligator in our yard! (Seriously, Ellie?! Of all the things - VBS, Georgia, the beach - you tell her about an alligator in the yard?!)
Ellie progressed so well in her class last year that she was promoted to the intermediate class. I have no idea what that really means except that she really loved her class today and felt like she really "did" gymnastics. The SEC Championship and NCAA Runner-Up trophies awarded to the LSU gymnastics team last season were on display today.
It's been awhile since I've shared Ellie-isms. So here are a few I collected over the summer.
We had some friends over to play one day during the summer. The kids always love playing hide-and-go-seek in the house. Ellie can hide the best because she's so small. I think Mason and Hannah Kate pretty much know where her "go-to" spots are, but our friends who come to play do not so they always have trouble finding her. It was one such day, and this is what she told me after they went home: Mom, can you believe he walked right in here and didn't know where I was at?! I got so tired of hiding. I knew he was never going to find me. So the next time he came in I had to say, "Cock-a-doodle-do," so he could find me! (Cock-a-doodle-do? I think she's confused with something else . . .)
One day she was rattling off to me about a game they were playing on the trampoline. She was explaining the three ways to play this particular game. Yeah, you can play the regular way. And then there's the new way. Or you can play it the old-fashioned way without talking. That's the HARDEST WAY for me to play! (And, can I just say, a truer word has never been spoken! At least she owns it! I mean, she's a chatter box ALL THE AFTERNOON LONG after I pick her up from school. It's like she's just bursting at the seams after having been quiet a large part of the morning.)
One day during the summer I purged the kids' closets. This is otherwise known as "donating" at our house. Mason's and Ellie's rooms got the biggest overhauls. I'd forgotten just how many "toys" were still in Mason's room that he never plays with anymore (because, teenager). So we made a trash pile, a save pile and a donate pile. One of the things we found was an old Stephen Joseph children's wallet he'd been given many years ago. It's blue and green with a tiger appliquéd on it. Ellie picked it up and asked if she could have it. I told her she could, and she walked around with that thing in her purse for the next month. One day shortly thereafter, she walked into the kitchen while I was preparing lunch. Mom, I feel so grown up now. I mean, I can make my own egg. I can make my own sandwich. And I have my own wallet!
And then there was the day the first week of school that I picked her up, and she was so excited that her beloved 1st grade teacher had asked her about her summer. Yeah, Mom, and when Mrs. Mitchell asked me about my summer, I told her that we had an alligator in our yard! (Seriously, Ellie?! Of all the things - VBS, Georgia, the beach - you tell her about an alligator in the yard?!)