The Little Gym

Before we committed to the little soccer class with Gracie, we wanted to give another structured activity a try. Sherry and Olivia had been encouraging us to try the Little Gym, as a little girl at Olivia's daycare has been going and loves it. They offer a free trial class, so that's what we did this morning. Gracie is technically supposed to be in the "beasts" class (over 19 months), but because we wanted her and Olivia together, because G has never done a class of any kind before, and because the Saturday class combines the "beasts" with the "super beasts (up to 3 years old)", we asked if we could do the "birds" class, and they said that was fine. So, Gracie was the little oddball this morning, but we really enjoyed the class and are probably going to commit to this semester (it goes until mid-January).
The instructor told us that it is normal for the kids to want to explore the gym, and that it is fine for them to do so, as it encourages their independence, and that we should let them wander off (with supervision) if they desired. Which, of course, is EXACTLY what G had in mind for much of the class. But, a big part of the class was free exploration, so it was cool. She also told us that kids at Gracie's age are the big ones for wandering, and it is fine. The class focuses on following directions, exploration, music, play and basic tumbling skills. This morning was "backward day", so many the skills we were shown involved going backward (back handsprings on the octagon and backward rolls on the wedge).
Below are some of the pics from today:

Gracie didn't NEED to hold on to the support bars, but it sure was fun!

Olivia practicing her backward roll (with spot).

Gracie's turn


Check out Olivia on the big balance beam!

Little G

On the air track

Air track (inflated)

Waiting for the air track to inflate

Both girls (and us adults) had a good time- I think this will be a good activity to get Gracie exposed to more kids and have a semi-structured activity to do each weekend!

Teacher

I am thrilled to report that I have FINALLY officially obtained the position of TEACHER for Wake County Schools! It's about time, I know. I get to stay in the science lab, so this is pretty much my dream job. The only downside is that I am being booted out of the main building into a "modular unit" (trailer)- they need my room for a new PreK or something. I'm not thrilled about it, but at least I get control over my own heat/AC, so I won't be freezing anymore. I've been working this week to get my room packed up, and I guess I get to go through to process of re-setting up a new room, which is always fun. I will miss all of my shelves and especially my sink/countertop area. I will have my own bathroom, which is nice, but the sink is lacking in function. I'll have to post some pics when I get all set up. Just wanted to share my good news!

Great Wolf Lodge

At the last minute last week we decided to try to go out of town for the weekend. We weren't sure where to go, but the Outer Banks and Great Wolf Lodge were possibilities. We didn't figure we could get a decent place at the beach, so we looked into the Lodge, talked Grant, Sherry and Olivia into going with us, and made the reservations. We didn't get much of a deal, because of the holiday and it being last minute, but we think it was definitely worth the money! We had a great time. We got a room with 2 queen beds and a small sitting area that had a wall to separate the 2 areas. Sherry made a little fort to separate the pack-n-plays so the kids couldn't see each other:

Here's Olivia playing Peek-a-boo in the curtains (a favorite activity):

The girls hanging out (Gracie is helping Olivia with her shoe):

Hiding behind the curtain was another favorite activity:

Whoa.

We arrived around dinnertime on Saturday, and just kind of hung around in the room then went to eat at the buffet. It was pricey, but the food was good. The service sucked, however. By the end of dinner we had 2 nap-deprived kiddos, and I headed upstairs to put G to be first. The others were soon to follow and Gracie was already asleep. She sleeps like a log, so we got Olivia to bed pretty easily, too. The rest of us stayed up to play Spades until all hours. We only had once incident where G woke up hollering and I thought for SURE she'd never go back to sleep, but she did pretty quickly. She must've been worn out.

The next day we got breakfast at the buffet (we had pre-paid for it, and they ended up giving us 2 days of breakfast accidentally- score!), and Olivia took her morning nap while Randy, G and I hit the arcade. They had a great little arcade and even Gracie enjoyed the little ride-on cars and hitting buttons on some of the games to win tickets.

Once Olivia was up it was time to hit the waterpark. We got the girls suited up with life jackets and they totally enjoyed the water! They had a little toddler area with a couple of slides and sprayers in about a foot or 2 of water. Olivia LOVED the waterslides, and Gracie did at first, then got a little spooked about sitting down at the top. I have a video, but the computer is taking forever to upload, so I'll try again soon. Sherry and I took turns switching off with the Dads to go ride the big rides. The Howling Tornado was great! We also took the girls into the Lazy River and on the big fort.

We ended up with hungry girls about mid-afternoon, so we changed and did a late lunch at a little place next to the Lodge called "Jungle Jim's". The girls took a nice nap then we suited back up for the waterpark again. This time we took the girls on one of the big rides! A family raft ride down a huge tube. We didn't realize that they turned the lights off at night, so it was pretty dark in there. I think they liked it, though.

We finally headed back to the room, stopping for pizza on the way (which took FOREVER!!). We had a nice junk-food dinner and put both girls down to sleep at the same time- and they actually went right to sleep!!! Another evening of Spades (the guys are now even with us girls) ensued.

Monday morning Sherry and I had appointments for a pedicure at the spa, which we thoroughly enjoyed. The guys took the girls for breakfast and then we packed and hit the arcade one more time. Gracie won 25 tickets herself! We ended up with a bunch of tickets and got G a little GWL stuffed wolf as a souveneir, then we finally headed home.

It was a great trip- I would highly recommend the place for families with kids of all ages, and I'm sure we'll go back in a couple years when the girls can do more stuff. They had a great time together, too (you can't beat running up and down the halls, riding on luggage trolleys and the elevator!). Keep an eye for an update to Sherry's blog for more pics.

Kickin' It!

On Saturday, we took Gracie to The Factory to do a trial lesson of the Turf Tikes soccer program. The program is an 8 week session for kids 18-24 months and focuses on following directions (yeah, right!), and basic soccer stuff. It is for parents and kids. Gracie loves to kick a ball around, so we thought she might enjoy it.
She was the only little girl there, and it was evidently the last class of the previous session. Most of the other kids were older (closer to 2) and they seemed to kind of have an idea about what to do. Gracie? Not so much. She was having no part of sitting in the circle, following directions, playing redlight, greenlight or anything else that involved her being told what to do. Now, she wasn't the ONLY kid not doing what everyone else was, but it was obvious that she wanted to do her own thing. She loved kicking around all the soccers balls, and playing in the goal. We did an activity where we built a tower of cones and the ball and she had to kick the ball to knock down the tower- she LOVED that! And was good at it! She also liked the parachute.
We're not sure we're going to enroll her in the class at this point- she's just not ready. But it was fun to see her around other kids and doing something new!