2nd Day Back On The Ice

I headed out to my first group lesson in well over a year tonight. I saw my original skating coach who is now skate school director at the new rink and she ran over and gave me a big hug, and said she was so happy for me and glad to see me back. She is also teaching the adult/teen group so I get to have her as a coach again which is nice! It was kinda surreal having her teaching me again off in the corner of the rink, made me miss the old days at the Polar Dome! Hard to believe I have been skating for eight years now and my first lesson ever was with this coach, she's seen me get engaged, she was at my wedding, and now I'm having babies! Both of my coaches have been with me through all that and they are just truly the best. While I was off the ice having Ava the rink switched over from ISI (Ice Skating Institute) to US figure skating, the two don't mesh real well, and it sounds like the former Polar Dome are not too happy with the switch. Since they did the switch I went back to adult group lessons where I can work on what I need too since there is no real other place for me now since I am passed the highest skate school level there is, I don't know it's weird. I skated US figure skating for sychro and I have one of my moves tests done, but I prefer ISI and any more competing I do individually will still be ISI events. I will also continue to test in ISI as well. I also got the ice show info tonight, I am so looking forward to doing an ice show again!

So my second day back on went just as well, my spins were a little un-centered tonight, but landed all the same jumps again. My hip and back were much more sore since I had just skated on Saturday and I didn't take any pain reliever before getting on tonight because I wanted to see how well I could hold up without it, and it wasn't too bad at all. I am hoping my hip will get stronger and the pain will go away soon. I think I am going to try some Lutz jumps on Saturday since my flips came back with no problem and depending on how my hip feels I may do a couple loops but I really can't over do it with those. I have noticed as I have gotten older I can't do as many reps, so I just try and make the ones I do, do, really good. I remember being in gymnastics and being able to do back to back routines like nothing, ah the good old days. That is all for now, back on the ice again on Saturday!

Just Draggin Today...

For some reason I am just dragging today, I so wished I could have taken a long nap with Ava this morning but Logan wouldn't have liked that too much. It just been one of those days around here, Logan is clingy, Ava's not eating easy today, we had a poop explosion that required a total strip down and new outfit for Ava, Matt is in a bad mood when he called from work and I just want to nap. I did manage to make a new marinade for our steak tonight and it smells good so hopefully it will taste as good as it smells. The house is a mess right now and I know it's not going to get picked up tonight, once Logan is in bed (which by the way can't come soon enough today, to much partying this weekend for him) I am going to hit the couch and not move until I go to bed. Matt should be home any minute so that is at least a little break for me since Logan will be attached to him once he makes it through the door. I am suppose to start my Tuesday group skating lessons tomorrow (it's been awhile since I was in a group lesson since I was preggo) and it will be interesting to see how well I skate after a day with two kids now. Usually the cold air and smell of the rink perk me up enough to get through class, but I know I will sleep good tomorrow night!

So after the poop explosion clean up we did a little photo shoot to kill the time waiting for Matt to get home. Here are some shots:

Right before the explosion

Blue Steel

They just melt my heart...

Ava's Chattering & Logan's Playing

Little Ms. Ava sure has found her "voice" today, she is just chattering and stretching away and she is really loud too! It's so funny it's like she's talking right to you. She is also playing like crazy under her activity gym, she bats and grabs on to her toys now and swings them around. It is so crazy to see the differences between her and Logan when he was 3 months. Logan was very quite and never cared much for his play gym, maybe it's just the girl in her but Ava is vocal and into all her toys already. She is such a happy baby (most of the time) and it makes me feel so good that I know she is happy. While Ava was playing under her gym today she got really close to rolling over (from back to tummy), it won't be long now. I was lucky enough to catch Logan's first roll over on our video camera so I should probably get that charged up and put a new tape in so I can get hers too.

Logan got to play with his cousins today so he was a happy camper until we had to leave of course, leaving places where he is having a good time is a challenge right now but hopefully we can work through it and it will get better. It's so fun to watch Logan interact with kids around his age, he is much more social than he use to be (thanks to MDO) and he has such a look of joy in his face when he's playing with other kids. He made his first non family friend at school so he comes home after school each week and let's us know what he and Max did that day and then talks about his friend Max all week leading up to school. I am so proud of my little man, he has come a very long way... Matt and I are going to a preschool fair at our library on Saturday to get info for all the area preschools, hard to believe our first bundle is starting preschool in the fall.

Back On The Ice!!

Today was my first day back to skating since I had Ava, and I can happily say it went really well, way better than my first attempt after having Logan. Of course I was off the ice much longer with Logan, with Ava I skated from the time I found out I was pregnant until 5 weeks then I was off for 10 weeks because of the uterine bleed I developed and got back on at 15 weeks and skated until 29 weeks (no jumping or spinning once I got back on at 15 weeks) and it really did make a big difference. Warming up felt good, my feet really didn't bother me anymore than normal and my hip that has been giving me trouble felt good. I was able to do some decent spins and landed all the jumps that I tried (waltz, toe loop, Salchow, and flip). I didn't do any loops because that would have been a lot of pressure on my bad hip and no lutz's which also really would have been hard on the hip and obviously I am not attempting any axles until I'm a bit more back in shape. It felt sooo good to skate again, there is something about the smell of ice when you step in the rink, I just love it. I am so excited to get back in shape and do the ice show this year. I might think about doing a competition in the summer or fall, since I haven't competed independently since July of '07 when I went to ISI Worlds, I was competing hard core with my sychro team though up until May of 2008 (and yes my sychro coach is already trying to get me back next season...) I will be skating two days a week now so hopefully things will move along nicely and I will be good to go for ice show time. Matt and I busted out the Wii Fit again so I will get going with the yoga on there and the strength training to hopefully get my hip and back stronger which will really help me get my bigger jumps going again. So first day was a success and it felt really good, as a new mom again and a mom of a toddler it's nice to have somewhere to go and let off some steam and get a work out all the same time!

Happy 3 Month Birthday Day Ava!

Wow, I can hardly believe that Ava is 3 months old today! The last three months have gone so fast. I think we need to stop having babies in October, because starting in October we have a bunch of family birthdays, then Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, it really makes time move way to fast! She has become so social she is smiling and talking all the time. She loves grabbing at her toys now and now she is even jumping in the jumperoo...she is getting so big! Since babies don't have a well check-up during month three, we did her stats at home using a good ol' tape measure and the Wii Fit. Ava weighs in at 14.6 lbs and 24 1/4 inches! She is just the greatest baby and has been since day one, we are so blessed to have her. Every morning she wakes up happy and I peek over at her in the bassinet and she gives me a big gummy smile, it's the best way to start your day! I love watching her personality develop, and seeing all the things that get her excited. Happy 3 months to my little girl, they have been three of the best months of my life!

My Big 3 Month Old!

Ava's First Jump In The Jumperoo!

I was feeling like Ava needed some new stimulation and was thinking about pulling out the exersaucer out for her, but I remembered that when we put Logan in that at first there was too much room in the seat and he would flop around so then I thought I would try the jumperoo because I remember the seat being much smaller, but originally wasn't going to put her in it yet because it seemed to advanced for her, boy was I wrong, in fact I have to move it up to the second setting already because she is so darn tall! Anyway once I got the thing cleaned up and the seat put back in (which took me awhile to figure out again) I put her in it and she just looked at me and smiled and smiled. She's too young to move the seat around so I moved it for her and showed her all the different toys and lights, she really liked it, she ever did a little bouncing. Later when she was in there while I was cooking dinner, Logan came home from gymnastics and then I hear him in the living room with her playing with her showing her the toys...I love seeing them interact together it's the best! So the ol' jumperoo was a success, but she did look like such a big girl in it and that makes me kinda sad too...

Happy 11 Year Anniversary to Hubby and Me!

Wow 11 years sounds like a long time and makes me feel kinda old...

But they have been 11 wonderful years, who knew that the boy that sat at my table in Jr. English class would one day become my husband and we would have two beautiful children together! We survived high school, going to different colleges and many changes together, but we were lucky enough to grow together and not apart through all that time. I love Matt more and more everyday and I am so lucky to have him. He is the greatest husband ever and does everything and more for me. He is the most hands on Dad I have ever met and I have loved watching him become a father first with Logan and now watching him with our little girl, there really is no words to describe the feeling. He is my biggest supporter, always willing to travel to my skating comps and taking care of Logan when I had to travel far for sychro. He always tells me I am beautiful even if it just after having a c-section and I look a royal mess or after a bad day with the kids and no shower...

I can't imagine living this life without him. I look forward to what the future holds for us and working through life's challenges with him.

I love you sweetie and am forever grateful for your love. Here's to the next 11 years and more!

Some Highlights:

People still talk about our wedding reception...it was a party for sure!

Our Honeymoon in Maui

Biking Down A Volcano Together

Logan's Birth

Ava's Birth