otto takes gymnastics

the latest session of gymnastics started, and this time otto was able to sign up. oh man, was he excited!! the first day, he walked into the gym, turned around to us and threw his arms up in the air and said, "YES!!" it was awesome. he is loving it....it's funny to watch him and think back to greta starting gymnastics when she was two, and now she is almost four. not to compare, but they are truly such different children. otto does well following directions, but he also will just go and do whatever he wants (if it's time to jump on the trampoline and he wants to stay on the slide, he tries to just stay on the slide). little stinker.
greta started gymnastics again too and is doing well also. we had a few tears that first day, but she was so excited too. we are realizing that those initial tears are just her way of reacting to a change in routine. she is much like her mama in that she likes the familiar and the known, and needs a bit to adjust when something changes.
anyway, we love cincinnati gymnastics!! can't wait to sign selma up!

it's fun at CGA!

a few pics from greta's gymnastics class. it's so hard to get good pictures, because she is (obviously) constantly moving around, and they also ask that parents not hover. good luck with that. :)

we also get a work out when going to her class, because we spend the hour chasing otto around. there are gates that close off the gymnastics area from the waiting area, but either they are left open, he can open them himself, or he can squeeze through them even if they are closed.

gymnastics

here are a few photos from greta's gymnastics class. we starting taking greta to cincinnati gymnastics academy (CGA) last winter, and she LOVED it. we took the summer off and started back at CGA this fall. the first class back was ROUGH. i mean, rough. new class, new teacher, new friends in the class. not to mention we previously went on friday mornings, so the gym was pretty much empty except for greta's class. now that she's in the 3 year old class, her class is on saturday mornings. and the gym is PACKED. there are so many classes going on, and many of the elite gymnasts are there too, which is neat to see. anyway, that first class was rough, but after that greta adjusted and now she loves going. it's pretty cool to see how she has improved over the course of a year. not only in the physical skills (she is pretty good at walking the balance beam), but she does great following directions and following a circuit. her teacher (miss candace) often has greta go first and then tells the other girls to "watch greta. do what greta does". here are just a few pictures of greta jumping and squatting on and off the mats. go greta!

cincinnati gymnastics

greta had her last gymnastics class this past friday. she has been taking for a while now, but we are going to take the summer off and probably start up again in the fall. it has been so fantastic....i really can't say enough about it. she LOVES going. in fact i am feeling a little guilty for not sending her in the summer.
and while i'm not sure she's the next mary lou (or nastia or whoever), it's so much fun to watch her have so much fun. she LOVES her teacher miss katie. she talks about her friends from class all week, especially olivia and andrew who have been in the class with her since she started. it's so neat to watch her climb the rope wall or walk the balance beam. and to watch her on the trampoline is still hilarious. and as a parent it makes me proud to see her listen to another adult, be kind to other kids, and to be able to follow a circuit pretty well. i had no idea she would get these skills from gymnastics.




i took these pictures on my phone, so they're not the best. check her out on the rings and on a few of the beams. and the picture at the top is the class with miss katie singing the CGA song. greta loves to sing and after the very first class, she was asking me to sing the song with her. so for the next few weeks, i had to really concentrate so that i could hear the song and memorize it. "try try try again, do your best today!" that's the part of the song we like the best.

gymnastics

thought i'd share this picture of greta and her cousin ellie on picture day at gymnastics. i wish i knew how to make it bigger. i love this photo...it makes me giggle everytime i see it. i'm not sure why....maybe it's their leotards. or their pigtails. or how they are posed ever so carefully on that little ladder.

anyway, we are in austin texas for sxsw....joe has been busy taking part in some of the 'interactive' sessions of sxsw, which means the kids and i have been hanging out and enjoying the beautiful weather. so far we've done lots of playing at playgrounds, shopping (and eating) at whole foods, and yesterday we enjoyed a kite festival at zilker park. we'll get back to blogging and posting photos soon, including one of otto's black eye he got the day before we left!

gymnastics

greta just started taking gymnastics classes every friday morning. it's pretty awesome, for everyone! it's pretty entertaining to watch the one teacher corral all 4 students in the class, trying to lead them from one apparatus to the next. and greta loves it! she always amazes me in new situations....for some reason i think she's going to be shy and hang back, but it's almost always just the opposite. the first day, we couldn't get her leotard on fast enough. she headed right out to the 'big gym' floor. it's pretty cool....they get to walk the balance beam, swing on the rings, and jump on trampolines. she actually does pretty well and follows directions well too.