The Gym

This morning I did something that I have not been able to do with Ruby since before she started walking. I took her to an open gym at a place where she could run and climb and interact with other kids. The big kids and I took her to Catch Air about two years ago, but that was before she was walking. Then summer came and before I knew it, we hadn't revisited the place.  And then leukemia hit and we were forbidden from going anywhere germs might linger, especially "random" germs (as opposed to those from family she lives with).

Ruby had a mini carnival at her school yesterday, and seeing her try to navigate the bouncy house made me realize that she is so ready to crawl and climb and jump. The PT benefits from bouncy houses and trampolines and other things that require her to test her balance are HUGE, and they are exactly the kinds of things we have always done at the house, but without the added benefit of fun that comes with gym equipment.

So today I took her to Champion Kids, a place the bigger kids took urban gymnastics a few years ago. They have an open gym area for toddlers a few hours each morning. Ruby ran around the place like it was Disney World. She tried everything once and then made her rounds again, not letting anything get in her way. She got in a few kids' faces, saying 'hi' and then kind of swatting their face. (Not sure what is going on with that, but hopefully it is just her re-entry into society.) She climbed and ran and tripped and did anything she could for a full 90 minutes. Next week I am trying out a Mommy and Me gymnastics class with her.
My favorite thing was watching her do everything so independently (she didn't want me to help her with anything except pulling her out of the foam pit, which is pretty hard, even for a typical child). But she DID want me to sit or run and participate with her. She kept patting the ground next to her and saying, "Mama", and she would go to a new apparatus and say, "Peassss" (as in, please come here).