Open House at The Studio

 Yesterday, we had the opportunity to go to The Studio for the Open House they were having. We got Rachel and Rebekah all set up for their dance classes this year.

The staff had one of the classrooms open for the children and the girls played and danced while I did their registration forms.

The girls with Ms. Jessica

Rachel will be taking Ballet again this year. Her teacher will be Ms. Jessica. Rebekah will be in Creative Movement with Ms. Kitty. Bekah is looking forward to meeting Ms. Kitty next week when class begins.

The girls with Ms. Tara

The girls enjoyed seeing their teachers, Ms.Jenna and Ms. Tara, from this past year and giving Ms. Jessica a hug as well.





I have two very excited big girls about dance class beginning next week! Before we know it, our newest little ballerina will be ready to join her big sisters and dance! We are looking forward to another great year of dance!

A Movie and A Picnic

 This morning, the girls and I headed to the movie theater in Lexington. They do free kids movies on Wednesday mornings in the summer. We went to one a few weeks ago and had a lot of fun. So when my friend Sarah mentioned going again, I knew the girls would enjoy it. We saw Rio 2 and the girls had a great time. Though it wasn't the movie we saw today, Bekah wanted her picture made with the turtles.

Sarah also suggested we take a picnic lunch to Boxerwood afterwards. Brent was working at church this morning but was able to join us for a little while for the picnic. We had been to Boxerwood for the first time recently for family pictures but we had no idea the childrens area was even there. What a great place to play! This is another new spot to us around Lexington, but one I am sure we will be going back to again as well!

 We had picnic lunch and a good visit with Charles and Sarah. I did convince the girls to eat most of their lunch before running off to play, but, believe me, they were much more interested in making a mud pie feast instead of their lunch today!

 Bethany took a great nap while we were there.

 

 We also found one of the largest chairs I have ever seen (couldn't even hardly get it all in the picture and still see Bekah) and a house made all of branches and greenery.

 

 We even found a full kid sized checkerboard!

What a fun morning at the movies and picnicking and exploring Boxerwood with our friends, the Walkers'. We also had registration and open house for dance later today. More on that tomorrow!

Rainy Day Play Day

 On Monday, the girls and I ended up being home all day. It was a pretty restful day, which we needed, but by afternoon the big girls were ready to get some energy out (as Rachel calls it). On Saturday, we were forecast originally to get over 2 inches of rain. Actually, the rain stayed all to the south of us and I am not sure we saw a single drop of rain on Saturday. Of course, that morning when I saw it was supposed to be rainy, I asked the girls if they wanted to play out in the rain. Of course, they said yes and of course, it didn't rain all day.

 Finally, on Monday, we got a little misty rain with no storms and they were ready! Bekah wanted to find "muddy puddles." I don't think we even got enough rain then to make puddles but she still found a way to get her feet muddy somehow! They had a ball and played for quite a while. One more bonus: they got so much energy out they took a 3 hour nap!

A New Playce to Play

 We had a great Sunday morning at church and then after lunch we had made plans to meet our friends, the Coiners, at the park in Lexington. My friend Molly and I had been trying to figure out a time to meet for the past few weeks here. This is Kids Playce in Lexington. Rachel and Bekah had been with once before with Mrs. Deborah but this was the first time Brent, Bethany or I had been. Yes, it might have been the first time but I am sure we will be back soon. It is a great park!

 I didn't realize Rachel happened to be in this picture too!

 Here are the babies at the park.We were talking about how we can't believe they are 5 weeks old already!

The Dads and their youngest daughters

 

They all enjoyed the sandbox together.

 

 We all had a great visit at the park together. Rachel is already trying to figure out when we can all go back to the park together again. We also had supper together and they were able to come to Sunday evening service with us as well.We enjoyed being able to get our two families together. What a fun Sunday!

Rearranged Room

 When we found out we were having another girl, we began to talk about how we would have the bedrooms after the baby came. Rachel and Bekah already share a room and have since we moved into our home.
After discussion with the girls too, the big girls decided that they wanted all three of them to share a room. We already had one toddler bed that I had found on Craiglist for Rachel back when we lived near Richmond. We considered twin beds, but there was no way to fit all three girls in one room with twin beds. So I began to look on Craigslist for another toddler bed. About 2 weeks ago I found one near Waynesboro that had both the toddler bed and mattress for a really good deal.The big girls are loving being side by side in their beds. Rachel chose the new to us toddler bed and gave Bekah the bed that was hers. This was actually very good, as Bekah already considered that toddler bed hers! The crib has been moved across the room in anticipation of Bethany's being in their room too. Bethany, your sisters are very excited for the time when you are big enough to join them in the room set up for you three!

Celebrating One Month!

Though it seems hard to believe, our sweet Bethany Joy is ONE month old today! We are enjoying her very much and are thankful for the joy she brings to our family already!

                                      
Earlier this week, we headed to the doctor for her one month checkup. She had a great checkup! She had gained from 6 pounds, 13 ounces to 8 pounds, 2.5 ounces in just over 2 weeks and added another inch to her length! She is still having some reflux issues with her tummy so we are trying baby Zantac to help with that. Overall, she is doing great!

 August 4, 2014
Weight: 8 lbs, 2.5 ounces
Height:19 and 3/4 inches long

 Praising God for our sweet Bethany and for Him giving her to our family!We pray the Lord will save her and do great and wonderful things in and through her life! Happy ONE month Birthday, Bethany Joy

                                                  " Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
                                                           The fruit of the womb is a reward. "
                                                                            Psalm 127:3

Swimming Lessons

 This post is actually about 2 weeks in the making. Two weeks ago on a Monday, we headed to the Blue Ridge Pool after Brent finished work for the day. As we arrived, we noticed there were a lot of cars for a Monday evening. As we got ready to go into the pool, we noticed a sign that said the pool would be closed from 6 to 7 each night for swimming lessons. I knew they had swimming lessons back in June but we couldn't go then because of our Vacation Bible School. Brent and I talked it over for a few minutes and decided that Rachel was old enough this year to try swimming lessons and we were able to get her in the class. She was a little nervous at first but then very excited to try. We went days 1-3 but were unable to go day 4 due to another event. We rescheduled the last lesson for last week and weather cancelled that one, so we got her last lesson in today.

She was in a group with one of the life guards, Miss Mackenzie, and she did great with her. Miss Mackenzie was so encouraging and a great teacher for her! Day one they worked on her scoops and kicks, learning to put her face underwater, jumping off the side, and finally jumping off the diving board. The following days built on these things.

 

The little big sister played in the kiddie pool and sat as close as close as she could get to the big pool to watch the lessons. She wants very much to try swimming lessons herself next summer. Bethany spent most of her time sleeping through swimming lessons this year.

 

Day 1

Day 4

Giving me a thumbs up before heading off the diving board

Day 1

 The diving board was one of the places we saw great gains in Rachel's skills. Before swimming lessons, she would not jump off the diving board at any point. Day 1 she tried it but only if someone walked out on the board with her. Days 2 and 3 she was even more brave and would jump off by herself to one of the lifeguards in the water below. Now she is jumping, wearing her life jacket without any help!!

 Today Miss Mackenzie even had her going underwater to get a diving stick with a little help. I didn't manage to snap a picture while she did this but here she is in her goggles just before going under the water.

Now she can swim short distances both above and underwater too. They did a great job at Blue Ridge Pool with their swimming lessons and we are thrilled with all Rachel learned. We are very proud of Rachel for all her hard work on her new swimming skills!