Gymnastics Rocks!

After fun times over the past 3 months for Isabelle and Oliver, the final class of gymnastics came this Sunday. Isabelle has had a blast trying out so many new things, mastering the balance beam and graduating to seat drops on the trampoline and so much more, including the social aspects of the class. You can always see her chattering away with one of her classmates, sometimes even being reminded by her instructors to move forward to the next station! Her blonde hair can also be spotted from way across the gym, which makes it easy for Mom and Dad to find her when watching from the tiny, glassed-in spectator area. Isabelle now calls somersaults as one of her "talents"!

Oliver got his first taste of gymnastics with this session and although not exactly a fan of the instructor (he was not terribly excited to go see her for his flips and rolls), he reveled in the chance to roam free and run and jump to his heart's content. The gym is like one big indoor playground, with tons of apparatus and lots of mats and adding to keep explorers safe, so you can imagine a little dude like Oliver would love to venture around and see what kind of trouble he can get into. One week with his Mom he discovered to the long trampoline the big kids use for practice. He was at the other end so fast it was incredible! Above all else, he loved the balance and trampoline, but only if he could do them on his own time. Other kids on the trampoline, not interested. On his own, loving it!

Isabelle is an old veteran around the Ottawa Gymnastics Centre. In addition to her familiarity with the surroundings, she also has a wide variety of outfits she can choose to wear from week to week. Is anyone surprised by this? For her final class of the year, she chose to harken back to last year's Christmas gift from her Auntie Meggie!

At the end of every class, the kids get stamps on their arms and feet as a reward. Oliver never moves as fast as when these things comes out. Suddenly, the teacher he recoils from is now his new best friend. If she also gave out chocolate, I think he would be asking to go home with her!