Gymboree Fun

Slam Dunk!
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

We tested out our first Gymboree class last week. We'd been to Gymboree to play before (for an open, play-gym session -- you may have seen the photos on flickr), but never for an official class. Nan and Auntie Caroline both raved about the class and the teacher, so Kathleen and I went to scope it out.

Kathleen absolutely could not care whether we attended a "class" or not. She just wanted to play on all the fun equipment. She climbed up ladders, slid down slides, burrowed her way through tunnels, and tested every rocker and teeter-totter in the building! The teacher was encouraging children to jump from one of the play structures, but Kathleen wasn't remotely interested in that. The play structure had a a slide, and if one could slide, why would one jump? Kathleen was particularly enamored of the toddler-sized basketball hoop. As soon as she saw it, she was perfecting her dunk.

Kathleen is a very physical little girl, and it seems that she'll be rather athletically-inclined. Honestly, she seems so interested in all things athletic that if I hadn't been there when she was born, I might wonder whether she is actually related to me. (If you ask Jim and my father, they'll tell you about how Kathleen watched -- truly moved her head to watch -- a Duke basketball game when she was only one day old.) She loves to run, to throw, to kick. In fact, those words have been some of the most recent additions to her vocabulary. It's hysterical to watch her run and kick a ball as she yells her version of "kick" the whole time. "Ball" is another one of Kathleen's favorite words, and she will repeat it over and over and over again as she plays. In fact, "kick" or "throw" is a pleasant reprieve from Kathleen's "ball" mantra!

So, although we might not be back for a class at Gymboree, until Kathleen's old enough to be enrolled in organized sports, we're going to be spending a lot of time running around playing our own versions of "sports." Look for us at the park. . . or on a patch of lawn . . . or maybe even in Nan's living room!