Finally catching up...

On all these posts - I was getting so far behind!

This is a victory pose and let me just tell you why!


We attended a school fundraiser called the "Turkey Trot". It was a mile run/walk to promote family fitness etc... So we decided we would give it a try. Hanna and a friend pretty much ran the entire way, but I had serious doubts about Rylee being able to make it. I considered bringing a stroller, but we have been really working on her muscle tone and stamina for gymnastics so I decided against bringing it.

We started out with Rylee pretty much trotting along trying to keep up with her friends, but it wasn't long before she started to lag behind. At the half mile mark there was a water stop. We grabbed a cup and encouraged her to keep going. She was really starting to drag and try to hang by our hands, but I just kept telling her "come on Rylee, you can do it, you can make it - let's go all the way Rylee - come on!". She complained, whined, said she couldn't do it - but I had my eye on the finish line. I was the major cheerleader - Come on baby lets go!!!! Just when I thought she wouldn't make it, a teeny tiny puppy caught up to us - well passed us. At this point out of a few hundered people we were almost dead last! She took off RUNNING after the puppy. It was just the incentive that she needed to keep going!

Several yards from the finish line she stopped and said she couldn't go any further! I grabbed her hand and told her "Let's GO, we can do it Ry!!!!" Her teachers spotted her and were cheering for her along with many other people. At this point I couldn't speak anymore and my eyes were threatening to overflow - you see just one year ago this girl, my sweet baby girl, could not go up one flight of stairs without having jello legs for the rest of the day. This little girl that tired so easily, had really almost no muscle tone in her legs when we met her - had just jogged, trotted, walked and trudged along for the entire mile ALL BY HERSELF!!! Yeah Rylee!!!!!!!

I know it doesn't LOOK like much of a reward - but she asked to - really she did!

I tried to tell her that it was really too windy to pick up leaves, but she insisted on trying. How could I turn her down after she worked so hard to finish that mile? :)