I attended Raine’s tumbling class for the first time this evening and saw first-hand just how much fun they are having. Raine put on an impressive performance, participating in all the activities and even doing a few firsts. I wish you could see her face in the videos because she had the biggest smile on it the entire time we were there.

The class starts with warm-ups and some group activities like the parachute . . .

. . . and the bear crawl (this one is still a work-in-progress).

Then she did the vault. Her face as she ran down the mat was priceless, she could not have been happier.

Next, it was time for the obstacle course. That “wall” is higher than it looks, but tonight Raine made it over without assistance for the first time. Just look at the determination on that face.

Here is a short video of the end of the course.

Next we headed over to the bars to do leg lifts. Raine has only been able to do the bars since she got her cast off, but despite the late start she is doing very well on them.

Finally, it was time for the balance beam. Raine did great on the narrow beams as you can see in the video — although she is easily distracted — but what I didn’t manage to capture was her walking unassisted on the wide beam. This was the first time that she mustered the courage to do it without holding Daddy’s finger.

This class has been such a blast for both Raine and Daddy. I am excited to see just how much more she will learn in the final two weeks.

It is that time of year again, when the sides of the road are the prettiest sight around. So we took a trip out to Cedar Hills to take some photos and do a little bike riding.

First we had a picnic on the grass in the sun.

Then Raine and Daddy took a walk to see the ducks, dogs, and everything else they could find.

Then it was finally time for a bike ride.

Our first stop was the bluebonnet field.

These bluebonnets were a lot taller than last year. Here is Raine standing in them.

And here she is last year sitting in them.

It has only been a year, but I hardly recognize that little baby! She is such a different little girl now — with a lot more attitude for sure!

Raine has quite a few favorite words these days, most are directly related to her favorite things — dogs, cats, us, food. It is impossible to capture her on video saying them impromptu so here is a sampling of prompted words. (By the way, she HATES the camera. Nothing will make her clam up faster than seeing that little red light flash. That’s why this video is not very well done, I was holding it down low and trying not to look at it too often.)

And here are a couple clips from Raine’s cat chase back in March. Again, she would say “meow” all day until I pulled the camera out. This was the best I could get.