Time To Start Buying Leotards

So today I picked Moana up from pre-school and took her over to a local gym that has a reputation for churning out some of the best gymnasts in the state. I heard they had a program for kids 3-5 years old and since Moana has shown some agility I thought maybe she'd enjoy checking it out. I really just wanted to get an idea of their schedule and fees, etc but of course as soon as we showed up a friendly coach told us there was a class going on right then and asked Moana if she wanted to join in... Duh. Don't need to ask her twice on that one!! She ran right over to the trampoline and forgot I was even there.

Of course Moana has a BLAST and swung around on the bars like a monkey and jumped into the foam pit and walked across the low/wide balance beam and did forward and backward rolls like a champ. She was totally into it and when the coach said jump she jumped and when the coach said arms in the air she put her arms straight up in the air... full on monkey-see monkey-do syndrome there which was perfect. So cute and I was just smiling ear to ear watching it all from the balcony of the gym.

Which brought back memories... sitting there watching the older girls just drill themselves... they would pick a skill and just practice it relentlessly over and over... there was some real talent in that gym and I had goosebumps watching. I remembered being that age and spending like 20 hours/week in the gym doing everything my coach told me to do (and more... if we were supposed to do 30 pull ups over the course of the workout I would do 60... shocking, right?). I absolutely LOVED being a gymnast... and still today I appreciate the discipline and hard work I learned to do when I was so young.

At one point Moana was standing on a taller mat and (assisted) she took (another) flying leap toward a bar and caught it with both hands! The look on her face when she realized she did it was absolutely priceless. So I signed her up and we're going back tomorrow. I've heard that when she puts a leotard on it'll be like magic, so that will be super fun for her too! Don't worry, mom. I'll take pictures. ;)

The only thing Moana didn't like about the gym today was that after an hour it was time to go home. She threw herself on the floor and yelled out NOOOOO!!! I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME!!!! So much for the good impression I thought we made... Ha! But like I've said before, apples don't fall far from trees so it shouldn't surprise anyone that my offspring apparently subscribes to the 'more is more' philosophy as well.