Gymnastics

I realized the other day that Lillian is not registered for any classes this fall - sounds a bit yuppie doesn't it. But classes give her structured time with other adults and children AND gives mommy a little break. So this morning I enrolled Lillian in a local gymnastics class. The class is huge, about 15 2-3 year olds and is held in a real gym. Lillian was a bit shy and obstinate when we first got there; she would not do any of the stretching or lining up.

From what I could gather, there is a warm-up/stretch time and one designated activity (today was running and jumping into a big foam cube pit) and then the rest of the class is free time. So unlike the parks & rec gym class Lillian took over the summer. They let the kids go on just about any piece of equipment.

After much prodding and dragging Lillian, she finally ventured into the foam pit. She would only jump if she was holding my hand. She preferred to run on the mat, plop on her bottom and scoot into the pit. The last time she was in the pit, she was crawling around and said she was tired! One of the moms said to me, "She is three right?" When I told her no, she seemed very surprised that she is only 2.5.

She swung on the parallel bars, jumped on the trampoline (and even waited her turn!), walked on a balance beam and played on the indoor play set. Of course any group event with Lillian can;t end with some form of a tantrum and it came when the teachers, Ms. Gayle and Ms. Terri told the kids that class was over and to sit down to get their coloring sheet and sticker. Lillian was having too much fun on the trampoline to join so mommy had to use the old If you act like this, we will not come back to class. It is time for you to sit down and behave.

Luckily it was one of the children's birthdays so his mommy brought cupcakes for everyone. Once I told Lillian she could get a cupcake if she sat down and collected her sheet and sticker, she happily plopped her bottom down. As soon as she received her stuff, she wanted to know where the cupcakes were. We went out in the lobby and she picked out her cupcake and even went back to get a wet wipe. I just hope she does not expect a cupcake after each class!

When we got into the car, Lillian kept looking at her coloring sheet and asking where the hidden pictures were - she LOVES those things. I told I did not think that was a hidden picture sheet but she kept insistign that we find them. She kept saying she found the pear and what shapes it was. It wasn't until we got out of the car and she showed me the sheet did I realize that is was a hidden picture sheet and a pear was one of the hidden items. I don't know if she overheard the other kids and moms talking about or if she figured it out on her own.

AND she even let me put her hair in a ponytail for class: