Ella's Busy Week

After months of asking me to put her in ballet lessons, I finally found the time to look into it yesterday.  After calling the four ballet studios in town (and getting four voice mails), I decided to give the YMCA a call.  After learning that the current session of classes had just started this week and that there were openings in one beginner ballet class and one beginner swim class, I decided to bite the bullet and sign Ella up for both at the last minute.  Less than 24 hours later, she was taking her first swim lesson and five days later she was taking her first ballet class.  To my surprise, Ella was so brave when I first dropped her off to both of these classes.  A few months ago she would have refused to leave my side and would have burst into tears if I had made her go without me.  However, she has gained so much independence since starting preschool this past fall.  Although she was a little shy and timid, Ella bravely stood in line for her swim class without even looking back at me and calmly walked into the ballet studio today without acting the least bit scared.  I was so amazed!  It was so fun to watch her participate in both of these classes.  She is just the cutest thing and reminds me so much of how Lia looked when she first started swim and ballet lessons at the same age.  Part of me loves that Ella is enjoying these wonderful, new experiences and part of me is so sad that she is growing up so fast!  So here is to savoring every moment!

Ella dressed in her swimsuit and ready to leave the locker room before her first swim lesson.

Ella sitting on the steps of the toddler pool with the other children in her class while listening to the teacher.

Ella going for a lap with the teacher while holding onto the bar float.

Sweet Ella giving me a smile while waiting her turn to swim with the teacher.

Ella waiting with another girl in her class.

A proud and happy Ella flashing me a smile once her first swim lesson was over!

We headed off today for Ella's first ballet class.  She was so excited that she kept on asking when it would start all morning long.  I had pulled out all of the hand-me-down leotards and ballet skirts in the dress-up box a few days ago and had washed them.  So, Ella had a massive selection to choose from.  She insisted on getting dressed in the leotard and skirt of her choice over an hour early and was so excited to put her little ballet shoes in her own bag.  The entire thing was so cute.  Ella even asked if we could go early since we were done with lunch and she was so anxious to leave.  We actually got to the Y about 20 minutes early which never happens in my world.  This gave Ella plenty of time to watch the other class finishing up and allowed the anticipation to build even more!  Here is my little ballerina waiting outside the dance studio.

After Ella's teacher let the girls into the studio, Ella went and sat down on one of the "spots" on the floor.

Here is a close-up of my cutie before class began.

Ella did such a good job listening to the teacher and following directions during the entire class. Here she is picking up her "dot."

Ella and the rest of her class getting in line to walk across the studio.

Ella spinning around.

And balancing on her tip toes.  So adorable!

Smiling with the other girls in her class.

Dancing with a partner.

At the end of the class, the girls practiced the dance they are going to perform in June.  Sadly, the recital filled up the previous week which was the one class Ella missed due to me not registering her in time.  It's a bit of a bummer, but hopefully Ella will never find out that she missed it.

The girls twirling around while practicing their recital dance.

A Whole Head of Filipino

Logan has always been the comic relief in our house ever since he started talking several years ago.  He just keeps us laughing and laughing on a regular basis with the funny and crazy things that come out of his mouth...and today was no exception.  Here is the conversation that he had with Ron tonight while I was making a Filipino dinner downstairs in the kitchen:
Logan:  I smell something good.
Ron:  That's lumpia.
Logan:  Yeah, I love lumpia.
Ron:  You know lumpia is a Filipino food.
Logan nods his head.
Ron:  You know, you're part Filipino.
Logan nods his head again.
Ron:  You're 1/4 Filipino.  I'm 1/2 Filipino.  And Lola is full Filipino.
Logan:  You mean like her whole head is Filipino?!

Yes, Logan, Lola's entire head is Filipino.  Amazing, isn't it?!  :-)  Love that kid.

Ella's Preschool Class Pictures

We are fortunate to have a photographer as one of the moms who participates in Ella's preschool co-op.  Since Jenny was hosting preschool today, she offered to take some preschool pictures of all the kids.  Jenny actually participated in the same co-op with me two years ago when Logan and her second child were preschool age and offered to take pictures of their group also.  So it was fun to go and help Jenny today and watch Ella get her picture taken with her preschool buddies just like Logan did two years ago.  I just can't believe how fast the years are going!  I feel like we were just taking Logan's preschool pictures.  Anyways, Ella and all of her preschool buddies did such a cute job this morning posing and smiling for the camera.  They really are the sweetest group of kiddos.  There isn't a single child who is difficult or hard to manage which makes for such a more pleasant experience teaching preschool.  All of the children get along and it has been nice for Ella to make some friends of her own for the first time in her life.  Here are to five more months of this sweet, little group of children before Ella moves on to the "big preschool" at the Lutheran Church where both Lia and Logan attended their PreK year.

From left to right:

Isla, Jacob, Ella, Emma, Valerie, and Jace.

Isla's and Emma's older sister, Vera, and Valerie's older sister, Reece, participated in Logan's co-op two years ago.  Jace and his older brother, Liam, joined Logan's co-op half way through the school year after my friend, Cassie, moved away with her twin boys who are a few days older than Logan.  It is fun to have three of the same families in the co-op participating two years later with Ella's group.

Another group shot of the kids.

Ella's individual shot.  I just think she is the sweetest, 3-year old on the planet.

All six of the kids' adorable, individual shots together in one image.

Lia's First Basketball Game

For the third year in a row, we signed Lia up for basketball through the Parks and Rec program.  However, for the first time ever, she signed up to be on a team without any of her friends.  Sienna, who has played on her team the past two years, decided to play volleyball instead of basketball this winter and Mollie decided to be put on the same team as Lia's old basketball and softball coach who we no longer play for.  However, Lia was totally fine with this and showed up for her first practice in December without any reservations.  Lia was placed on the Huskies team this year to play for Eric, a brand new coach who loves the game of basketball so much that he decided to coach a team without even having a child play on it.  That was a first for us!  Luckily, two girls from Lia's team last year were also placed on this team.  So, at least there were two familiar faces on the first night of practice.
After practicing two times a week for a month, Lia and her team met this morning at one of the junior high schools in our town for their first game.  Since this is our third year watching Lia play basketball in this league, we are used to the fact that most of the other teams are pretty evenly matched to Lia's team.  Occasionally there are one or two really good players on a team, but for the most part all of the girls play at the same ability level.  But that was not the case today.  Unfortunately, Lia's team got assigned to play an unbelievably talented team who came out of nowhere this year.  We figured out that they came from a neighboring town that is know for their phenomenal basketball players at the high school level and it was very apparent that they start "grooming" them at a young age.  So, sadly, Lia's first basketball game was a total bloodbath.  Lia's team couldn't even begin to keep up with this other team and the final score was 6 to 32.  However, I was very proud of the fact that none of these girls on Lia's team gave up.  They kept on fighting to the end.  So, although it was not the funnest way to play their first game of the the basketball season, Lia gave it her all and we are super proud of her!

Lia taking a water break while listening to her coach.

Lia flashing me her pretty smile!

Lia running down the court.

Lia taking the ball down the court.  I just love this picture of her.

Passing the ball to another teammate.

Lia dribbling the ball down court again.

Fighting to keep the ball as the other team swarmed around her.

Another action shot.

Lia dribbling and fighting hard to protect the ball at the same time.

Lia and her team coming back to the bench at the end of the game.