BLiNK: Tumbling

Almost since Kalianna learned to walk, she has been jumping and somersaulting and climbing on everything. She is very active and has no fear! Matt and I kept saying how we needed to find her a tumbling class or something. We knew she would excel in an environment like that. So after she turned two, and things calmed down with Magdalyn, I started looking around. I found this place called My Gym that offers a tumbling class for 2-3 year olds and they had a free two week trial. I figured why not give it a try - it's free.

I took Kalianna to her first class at the beginning of the summer and I knew we would be signing up in the first ten minutes. We walked into the gym, Kalianna took one look at all the mats, bars and trampolines and she squealed and started jumping up and down. She ran for the gate and was ready to go! Once we got her shoes off and entered the gym, she was all grins and giggles as she ran from one thing to the next, trying everything out. Climbing up and over and through and bouncing off one thing after another. Class started and she had a hard time with the structure at first. She did not want to sit on the mat and warm up when she still had things to explore! But after that first class, she has gotten the hang of everything and she does fantastic! The teachers who work there are amazing with the little kids and the classes are absolutely perfect for the short attention span of a 2-year-old.

The most awesome part is during the summer they have unlimited classes. So I can bring Kalianna almost every single day of the week and we only pay the small fee for the one class she is officially signed up for. They also have free play several days during the week, where she can go and just play for an hour. So technically I can bring her twice a day for the price of a one day a week class. They also rearrange the gym every week, so the kids get to explore something new each time they come. It has been such a fun thing for us to do this summer! It gets us out of the house, Kalianna gets exercise, and she is learning and making friends at the same time. Matt was able to come with us to free play last Monday since he had work off, so I was finally able to get some pictures! I didn't get everything, but I got enough to give you an idea of how much fun she has.

The ball pit. Kalianna loves to stand on the edge and jump in, then bury herself in the balls.

Climbing. They climb up this ladder built into the wall and touch the tape at the top. Kali did this on her first try. The girl amazes me with her athleticism!

Monkey bars. Still trying to master these. Her arms aren't quite long enough yet to do them without help.

The unparalleled bars. She uses the padding to climb up one of the sides, then she grabs the top bar and swings for a minute before dropping onto the mat. She saw a couple older kids doing it once at free play and immediately joined in.

The ladder walk. She loves this! Having to climb up one box, walk across a ladder a couple feet off the ground, then jump down on the other side. I think she is a monkey. I really do.

The trampoline. Another favorite almost since she could walk. And thanks to Grandpa and Grandma's Christmas present last year, she seriously flies on these things.