Daredevil Child

Well, here is my attempt at a post on the blog- sorry it's not as entertaining to read as Clay's posts!

In an ever continuing search to keep Addie busy and work on her social skills, I signed her up for a free trial class at two "kid gyms" here in the valley. Tuesday morning was our first visit to My Gym. I was a little worried that Addie would act shy and would take awhile to warm up and so I wasn't really even considering signing her up for a session.

We arrived about 15 min. early to sign up and fill out some information. We walked in and Addie acted shy for all of two minutes. She spotted balls in the middle of the room and started lunging out of my arms towards them. We quickly took off her socks and shoes and went into the play area. She ran around as if she had been there a million times before! Other kids started showing up and Addie would go talk to them or give them a ball. We did the group activities at the very beginning and then they turned everyone loose to play.

Addie went around to the different activities, went down the slide, crawled up/down the stairs, climbed up a small ladder, played with the balls, etc. Then she discovered the ball pit. At first she just wanted to stand on the side and hold one of the balls, but once I got her in the pit and she saw other kids playing in it, she did not want to get out. I'd get her out and try to distract her with another activity- she'd do it and then run back to the balls. She was in heaven. When it was over- she did not want to leave. They had a baby gate blocking the entrance to the room and she walked over and held on to the gate and cried. I was glad to see that she enjoyed it so much!

I also took her to a class at The Little Gym. This place was more gymnastics based and the classes were more structured. Addie was a little more reserved at the beginning here than at My Gym. She just kept running over to the door to go out instead of staying with all the other kids. She did like the warm up activities here -- one was to run around the mat in circles, which she did very well. She did some somersaults and another "rotation" with me- to which she exclaimed "whee" as she was flipped upside down. She didn't enjoy staying with the group -- she just wanted to wander and climb on the equipment. She definitely didn't like having to sit still and watch as the other kids took their turns! She did a trick on the bars with me and she exclaimed "whee" again....then the instructor got out some balls! Addie turned things up a notch and ran to get the balls....yelling "ball, ball, ball, ball" and screaming with glee!

She was the oldest one in the class and the most mobile and I think she probably scared some of the other kids with how loud and excited she was! She was trying to get all of the balls, most of the time carrying two at a time and jabbering away in her own language. She was very good about putting the balls back in the bag until she realized that meant they were going away! She had a good time- but it definitely was not as "fun" as My Gym.
I took Clay and some of our friends to My Gym on Saturday for their open house so he could see how much she enjoyed it. It was a little crazy when we first arrived as there were big and little kids and A LOT of them! Addie still loved the ball pit and spent most of the time in there but also discovered that she could walk UP the slide....much to my dismay. She is completely fearless when it comes to trying and doing things--something she definitely didn't get from me! I haven't decided whether it's a good or bad thing!
Both places were fun experiences for both Addie and I, and I was amazed at some of things she was able to do given the opportunity. We have signed her up for the next session at My Gym to get us through the rest of the cold weather and to give Addie an outlet for her energy and another opportunity to interact with other kids. It's going to be a challenge to keep her out of the ball pit the whole time! If you haven't tried it -- give them a call and sign up for a free trial! It's definitely worth it!