Major Milestones!!

We've had quite the week of accomplishments in the Root household!! We've had some hard things going on in our life, which gives us all the more reason to celebrate and enjoy such special moments!! We're pretty excited - first off, Kylee determined in her head that she was ready to ride without training wheels. I don't know what it is about this certain accomplishment - maybe one of the first young feelings of freedom - but it felt BIG! Within days she was riding her bike all throughout the neighborhood, up and down curbs and hills. She loves it. We also loved seeing her brothers come beside her and cheer her on, telling her how excited they are for her. I knew they loved each other! :O)

All three kids have been taking swim lessons the last 2 weeks and we are amazed at the confidence it has instilled in our little swimmers!! At the beginning of summer we had 2 boys who were very independent as long as they had "floaties" on, and a little girl who could swim alright, but didn't want to venture out further than where she could touch. Now? I have 3 kids who jump off the high dive and swim in 12 feet deep water to the edge of the pool!! It has been so fun to see them feel such a sense of accomplishment and bravery. Here they are in action (each on their first jump):

In addition, Kylee had some fun accomplishments in gymnastics this week as well. On Monday, much to my surprise, she managed her first back handspring all on her own! For my little gymnast, it was a big deal, even though she wouldn't give herself full credit because it was on a "squishy mat" and not on the tumble track. She's hard on herself. The following practice, she was able to perform her first successful handstand vault, which has been a hard skill for her to perform. She was beaming ear to ear afterwards, realizing she had finally done it!! Thanks for sharing in these milestones with us - they couldn't have come at a better time, giving us much reason to laugh and smile and celebrate!