Gymnastics

This has been a gymnastics filled summer for Ally. I know I've posted about it earlier in the summer, but since we spent so much time at this gym this summer, and it was such a part of our life I wanted to write out some more about the experience. The pictures here were taken thru the plexiglass window and therefore are not that great, but Ally is the one with the short dark hair in the blue sparkly leotard.

Doing somersaults up and down the mat on the line.

stand up with hands up at the end to finish it.
hand stands next

the bar was by far Ally's favorite piece of equipment. The beam was also neat to watch, and tumbling and she progressed really well in vault practice. But the bar is what she likes best.

I was telling some friends recently that the best thing about gymnastics this summer has been watching Ally thrive. Every Monday and Wednesday for 8 weeks we went to gymnastics at 4pm and stayed until 530 or 6 (it depended on the coach) and then for 3 more weeks we went once a week. Ally was pretty tired at 315 when I would come pick her up from home (I brought her most days and Becky had some alone time.) Sometimes we had to wake Ally up from a nap and coax her into the car. Then we'd get to the gym and teachers and staff would greet her. Ally was so grumpy and non-social it was embarrassing. Until we got her changed. Ally likes to get changed at the gym, so we go right into the bathroom and change into her leotard. Its like magic. We get in there and she becomes engaging and silly - makes me read the same sign every time about healthy eating and we look at the posters of the Olympic gymnasts (yes these are posted in the bathroom). When we leave the bathroom she might be a little clingy until class starts, but then when they open the doors and announce "Stars Practice" she was off like a light. Huge smile on her face as she ran around for warm up and then they moved into stretching and other activities. No matter how hot it was or how tired she blossomed in the gym.

Her personal success in the gym has given her confidence. After each class she would be so excited and wound up - it was often hard to get her to sleep before 9PM. But that was a small price to pay for such enjoyment. She made friends, all on her own, and asked for a playdate with another girl from class.

Now that school has started Ally will attend class once a week. We tried a Thursday afternoon class, but the other 2 girls at her level were 9 years old! Not a good fit for Ally. So this week we start going to a Saturday morning class.

Gymnastics is such a confidence boost for Ally and as her mom it is really amazing to be able to facilitate that for her. I can tell her she is bright and strong and beautiful, but in gymnastics she gets to see that she is good at it, she can feel and experience her success.