Gymnastics

MB has finished her first session of gymnastics and it was so much fun! It definitely was a highlight of my maternity leave. I'm so thankful I was able to take her to the classes and participate with her. It was amazing to watch her learn and grow between the first and last class. She is typically really shy at first so it has been great to see her come out of her shell and enjoy all of the different activities. She does well with a routine so she grew more and more confident during each class since she new what to expect. After the first class, she told me her favorite part was getting the stamps on her arms and belly at the end. I took my camera to the last class and captured a few pictures. Her favorite move is called "spide"r and unfortunately they didn't have that as part of the circuit for me to get a picture. However, if you are around us for more than five minutes, you often will get to see this move in person. We definitely will be taking another class but I'm just trying to work out the details since I go back to work next Tuesday. :-( All good things must come to an end I guess.

The parachute is definitely one of the favorite games that they play. As you can see, it is very important to have your tongue out in order to shake the bean bags off. The kids also jump in the middle while we shake it and lay underneath it so we can tickle their toes. She loves it and cracks up every time!

Getting toddlers to stretch is quite a trick and this is the "kiss your knee" move. Another favorite is pretending like your foot is a telephone and trying to answer it.

Sliding down one of the mats.

Crawling up the ladder to the platform.

Jumping over the bean bags on the beam. This is quite a feat! Notice the tounge. :-)

Another highlight is at the end when they blow up the bouncy thing. All the parents and kids lay on the mat while they blow it up. Then all the kids jump down the center line several times and then we all get back on it for them to jump individually and we sing a little song. We end up singing the song a lot at our house while she jumps. She loves it! Fortunately for me, makeup (or showers for that matter) are not required at class.

A little blur of happiness!

Total concentration trying not to eat it. She was able to recover and not fall. Such a fun experience!