You blink and you miss it.

I was at gymnastics this past Thursday after a two week Winter Break, reading my book and periodically looking up to see what Sam was currently working on.  The first time I raised my head to her direction I couldn't find her.  It took a good few minutes of backtracking to find her coach and then eliminating my way thru the group of girls one by one until I was left with Samantha.  (Ok, maybe I am over-dramatizing just a bit.  It's true that I didn't pin point my daughter among a crowded floor of girls within seconds, but it is a crazy environment to begin with.)

Oh my gosh!  When did this happen?  When Sam get so grown up looking?  I swear in the  last month Sam has blossomed.  Her face is more mature and there are no signs of the little girl she used to be.  She has gotten so tall too!  And with her hair the longest its been in years, she is aging faster than I can keep up.

I am not sure why this revelation is hitting me this way.  I was just with the kids every day, all day long for over 2 weeks -- seriously! There. Was. No. Separation. At. All.  But yet when I go to quickly find her in the crowded gymnastics "circus" (no better word for the chaos that is the place Sam does gymnastics), I couldn't easily spot her.  My memory of what Sam should look like hasn't progressed.  I think I just got zapped with a big dose of "My baby is growing up."

It's a bit weird when this happens and you realize it.  She is only 7 1/2 years old.   Today 7, tomorrow 27.

See what I mean....Where's my baby girl???

All grown up!

Sweetly Balanced

When we were in Richmond during Spring Break, we visited the Science Museum.  One of the experiments we experienced was seeing if we could perfectly balance ourselves.  The idea was to step on this machine and gently rock your body from left to right to left again until the light stayed lit in the middle.  This meant you were perfectly balanced.  Once you had the position, the timer would start counting to see how long you could hold it.

All 7 of us gave it try.  It was really neat to see how quickly we could get our body perfectly centered. Most of our group got frustrated pretty early on trying to get the machine balanced.  Ian had the best luck at getting the timer to hit 30 seconds relatively quickly after getting on the machine.  I barely could do it.  I think I got the timer to 10 seconds before I leaned to much to one side again. And believe me, I stood as still as I could to keep anything from making the platform move even the tiniest bit.  Sam stepped on the machine last.  From the second she stood on it, she had it perfectly balanced and the counter started. And the counter kept going and going and going.  She reset the timer 3 times before we told her we had to keep moving to another area of the museum.  Not only did she master the balancing part perfectly, but she was able to move/swing her arms and turn her head while standing on the machine.  Nothing was getting the machine to leave its balanced position.  It was pretty phenomenal and such a surprising moment for us all to witness. 

This past Tuesday I am watching Sam at gymnastics and noticing something along the same lines of the balance machine.  This is Sam on the balance beam.

 

 Sam looks amazing being able to hold this position.  How cool is she!?!?  No matter how young I was, I would've NEVER been able to do this. 

It's all about the core.  Her ability to balance is amazing.  I love how Sam can do stuff like this.

I thought this picture was neat too.  Shows Sam is flexible too!

Fire Alarm

With 30 minutes left to go in Ian's class, the fire alarm went off at the place where he takes gymnastics.  The entire place had to clear out.  I get a call on my cell phone with a South Florida number.  I think it is The Crazy Man and intentionally don't answer it because I am on the house phone line with my sister-in-law.  After finishing my conversation, I listen to my voicemail and come to realize it was Ian.  He borrowed someone's cell phone to call and say that everyone is outside due to the fire alarm going off and to come pick him up early.  Oh my!  I throw my jacket on and as I am running out the door, I yell to Jeff and Sam "Fire alarm at Capital. Need to get Ian NOW!"

 

I arrive and can't find Ian. For those who know this place, it is already organized chaos with bodies flying back and forth everywhere on the inside.  This training facility is always jam packed with action.  Imagine it late at night (with very little lighting) and everyone having to be outside. And to add to the scene, it has started snowing big, wet heavy flakes.

I park the car and start my search for Ian. There are too many kids all in the same patch of field.  Kudos to Capital for keeping them contained in one place.  A girl I don't know comes over to me and asks if I am looking for Ian's coaches group.  I say yes and she takes me to where the boys are.  A father of one of Ian's teammates opened his Suburban to the group and had them all wait inside his car.  Ian's Coach is standing outside of the car and sees me.  She opens the door and tells Ian I've arrived. At this point the snow is really starting to come down.  As Ian climbs out, he says, "So nice to have heated leather seats."  I had to chuckle; all the other kids are standing out in the cold getting snowed on with most of them only wearing a leotard and flip flops.  Ian is waiting for me to arrive sitting on heated leather seats while watching a video.  How wonderful this father was to his son's teammates. 

Ian thinks a fuse blew and that is why the fire alarm went off.  The fire engines were still checking things out by the time we left to go home.  Ian said it was nutzo with everyone trying to get their stuff and leave all at the same time.  Initially his group lost track of their coach.  Ian said they all huddled together outside and stayed as a team until she found them. 

It's crazy how you don't even think this stuff could happen until it does.  I am so proud of Ian for not panicking or freaking out that I wasn't there when the alarm went off.  And he used his head to borrow a cell phone to call me.

Whew!  What a way to get the heart pumping when you least expect it.   

Gymnastics No-No.

Ian takes gymnastics (2 hours each, 2x a week) and normally, I drop him off and Jeff picks up after class is over.  Since Sam has been taking a 1 hour gymnastics class now on Wednesdays, it makes more sense for me to stay for the two hours during one of Ian's practices. 

I was in a for a real eye-opener this past Wednesday.  Ian is in a class of 13 boys (this is a tad more than the 8 to 10 boys recommended) and they have tons of energy.  Ian was misbehaving and acting up during class, along with a good portion of his teammates.  Ian wasn't focused and not putting forth any kind of effort.  And the icing on the cake was the non-stop complaining on how he was hot and tired.  Lovely, right?  

Ian's coach is awesome and always complimenting me on what a nice boy and how well-mannered he is.  So surely Ian can't always be like this, right?   I was very frustrated with how the class was going.  After a little more than an hour, I decided to pull Ian from the rest of the class.  I couldn't watch his goofing around and lack of effort any more. 

We still had another 45 minutes to wait for Sam to finish her class.  I used this time to tell Ian how disappointed I was.  I don't need him to be perfect, but I do need him to try.  After the class was over, I went over to talk to his coach and let her know why I took Ian out abruptly.  I wanted her to know I knew Ian was misbehaving and I couldn't stand to watch it anymore.  The kids who did want to be there deserve her attention and help.   Meanwhile, Ian is standing off to the side of me and saying over and over again, "I just want to quit.  I don't want to be here anymore."   I think he was horrified I was talking to his teacher about him.  Ian's coach told me that during class he said, "I hope I make team."   So which is it Ian?  You want to make team or you want to quit?  Because you can't have it both ways.

When we got home, more was discussed between Ian, Jeff and me and how we expect him to behave and try.  And I told Ian to give it a long hard thought on if he wants to continue.  I wasn't going to be paying the kind of money we are spending to send him to gymnastics if he didn't want to be there.

The next day (Thursday), Ian comes to me and says, yes, he wants to continue with gymnastics.  And we came up with the idea to call his coach and apologize to her.  Ian left her a very sweet message that he came up with all on his own (I volunteered to roll play the telephone call first and he said no). 

"Hi, this is Ian Toppall.  I am sorry about gymnastics yesterday.  I was disrespectful to you and it won't happen again.  Please forgive me."

As Ian is leaving this message, his voice is getting higher pitched and shaky.  Clearly he was nervous.

I am extremely proud of Ian.  He made a "wrong" right.  Reports are coming back from his teacher that he is back to doing wonderfully and really trying.  Yay!

Pullover

 

Ian is now able to do a pullover in gymnastics, all on his own.  Before he needed his coach's help to get himself completely over.  Ian has got the move down.  Woo-hoo!   I am so excited for him.

 

 

 

Wednesday rule breaker

I don't think I've ever shared with anyone just how insane Wednesday afternoons are. 

Jeff was working from home this past Wednesday and he asked me if I needed him to pick-up Ian from school.  I thought about it for a second and replied with, "You couldn't handle it.  I've been doing this since the beginning of September.  It takes months of training to be where I'm at."

Ian's school lets out at 3:45pm.  Since we live so close to the school, we are considered "walkers".  However, due to the after-school activities on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays there is no time to walk home from school.  Additionally, I really like having Sam strapped in her car seat and not too much of a wild card hoofing it the 10 minutes back and forth to the school.  So, we go with the kiss-n-ride option picking Ian up from school each day.  Normally, I have enough time to wait in the long line of cars, get Ian, and continue on with our next destination. 

Wednesdays is our quickest turnaround.  Ian's gymnastics starts at 4:00pm.  We are lucky that it's only a 2 mile drive to get there.  It can take us anywhere from 5 to 7 minutes depending on making green or red traffic lights.

Unfortunately, Ian and the rest of the kids don't actually make it to the kiss-n-ride designated door until 3:50pm (at the earliest).  If I ever tried to be the first car in line, I'd have to get there by 3:05pm.  Just not going to happen.  And, if we wait in line with the rest of the cars, then I won't see Ian until 3:58pm or even later.  It is not a fast moving process!  You can only go as fast as the slowest moving kid that needs to get in the car in front of you. 

So I have a multi-step process that assures me I get Ian as quickly as I can and make gymnastics on time.  At 3:40pm, Sam and I head to the school.  I cut the entire line of cars waiting in the kiss-n-ride line and squeeze in between car # 1 and car #2.  So now, my car is beyond the kiss-n-ride line.  I do a 3 point turn and back my car into an open teacher/staff parking space.  I am now positioned perpendicular to the doors where the kids will come out.  I leave Sam in the car (with the car running) and stand in front of the doors.  At this point the special needs kids are coming out (they get released first) and I know it won't be much longer.  The teachers are doing their best to get the kids organized and there is a list of parents in order waiting in their cars for their children.  Technically, the student is supposed to wait until they hear their name called to make their way outside.  However, I've told Ian to make a run for it and I will always be there waiting to get him.  Only once did I not make it in time and Ian got in trouble for escaping before his name was called.  That will not happen again! 

It is now 3:51 or 3:52pm.  Ian and I get back to the car.  While I slowly make my way, cutting back through the line of cars, Ian changes his clothes (into gym shorts and a t-shirt) and then eats a hot snack of some type (chicken nuggets, pizza bagels, quesadilla, etc).  Since he will be in class for 2 hours, it is important he gets something substantial in him.

We pull up to the drop-off at gymnastics at 3:57/3:58pm.  Voila!  On time. 

Now, you may be asking yourself a few questions.

Why don't I park the car somewhere else close by that doesn't have me pissing off the first 2 cars in the kiss-n-ride line and breaking a few rules getting to the spot I want?  Because I want to be able to keep an eye on the car with Sam still in it.  By being on the other side of the kiss-n-ride line, I can keep Sam strapped in her car seat and watch the car the whole time.

I've also been asked why don't I go in to the school and sign Ian out a few minutes early?  Because I would have to park the car in a very inconvient location, take Sam in with me to the school to do the checkout and it would have to be EVERY SINGLE WEDNESDAY!  Once or twice, I could see doing.  But every single Wednesday?  No way.

And this is just one of many reasons why if I get committed to the looney bin, it will be on a Wednesday.

My little gymnast

Ian has been taking a recreational gymnastics class for one hour a week, all school year.  A few weeks ago he was asked to join the pre-team.  The coach even thinks that by this time next year, he could be competing.  Oh my gosh!! 

When I first brought the idea to Ian to take gymnastsics, it was with the intent he does something to stay active.  He had done soccer both in Fall and Spring for a few years, and this was truly cringe-worthy watching him play.  While he had major enthusiam for playing, any kind of natural ability did not exist.  Same thing with basketball. 

Apparently Ian not only enjoys gymnastics, but seems to be good at it too. What a nice change!  By being on the pre-team, he will go from his one hour class once a week to (2) two hour classes each week.  Wow!  Talk about a huge jump in practice time. 

We've told Ian that as long as he enjoys it, we will support him.  But when it becomes a chore and something he has to get dragged to, we'd want him to stop.  We live in too competitive of an area that I fear Ian (or more likely, me!) could easily get caught up in.

Until then, it is very exciting and I am a proud mama.  Goooo Ian!  Projecting ahead, I hope summer Olympics 2024 is in Australia.  I've always wanted to go there.

Here is video of Ian doing a flip for the first time.  This was taken on April 30, 2012.

Tissues at the ready

Hello, I'd like to introduce myself.  My name is Robyn and I've turned into a sap.  I am not sure exactly when my ability to tear up at the drop of a hat started, but I am going to blame motherhood.

Ian is not naturally athletic.  It's ok, neither are his mom and dad.  Whatever accomplishments Ian made on the soccer field came more from his abundance of enthusiasm and pure luck, than any kind of skill.  Getting Ian into gymnastics turned out to be a great outlet for someone who needs to progress at his own pace and will not be compared to others in a team setting, keeping count of goals, passes or assists.  It's a great solo sport, but you still feel like you are part of a bigger thing.  Watching Ian even try at gymnastics has me beaming brighter than a flashlight.

The gymnastics building is set-up that the parents sit on the 2nd floor and watch the action going on down below, on the first floor.  I try to get there early so that Sam and I can get seats right up front.  It's hard for me to not watch every exercise, tumble, swing from the rings, pummel horse and hand stand Ian attempts.  When I see Ian turn his body upside down and keep it perfectly straight, hanging from the rings, I want to stand up and yell, "WAY TO GO IAN!!!!  YOU DID IT!!!!"  Or, when Ian is attempting hand stands and he manages to keep his body in the air for 5 seconds, my breath is taken away and I start to tear up. I know how hard Ian tries and really gives it his all.

I am sure the other mothers around me think I am completely nuts.  They are busy reading their books, chatting with the other moms, helping siblings with homework or working on their laptops.  Sometimes I've been known to say excitedly, "He did it!!"  Or, "Wow!  Look at him, Sam!  Ian's is doing it!!!"  Even possibly, "Way to go Ian" has come out of my mouth from time to time to no one in particular.  Sam, by the way, is busy watching a movie on the iPad and could really not be bothered to watch her brother.

There was this one mother, who has 3 boys all taking gymnastics at the same time as Ian, who answered back to me one time, "Yes, I saw Ian do it too!".  I guess she felt sorry for me and wanted to know I wasn't alone.