Gymboree Time!!

Now that Jax is so active I REALLY wanted to get him involved in some fun activities outside of the house.  This serves several purposes:  1)  gives Jax an outlet for his endless amount of energy 2) helps him develop his motor skills 3) gives him a chance for lots of interaction with kids his age and 4) gives me a chance for lots of interaction with kids my own age!  :) 

We decided on Gymboree and found a class time that worked with Jax's naps.  It is actually a class for 10-16 month kids.  There aren't many 6-10 month kids enrolled right now and since Jax is crawling and pulling up and is close to the cut off age, the instructor thought that he would do fine in the older class.  Well last week was our first week and Jax LOVED it.  I thought he might stick to me like he does in most new situations, but as soon as I put him down he took off after a ball on the floor and didn't look back.  He really loved everything, the songs, the obstacles to climb, the games, the bubbles, Gymbo the clown, you name it.  Really the only thing he didn't like was the parachute game.  They have all the kids sit in the middle while the parents hold the edges of the parachute and walk around in a circle turning the kids around.  He hated that and immediately screamed.  So this time we skipped that activity and had a tear free visit. :)

After class today we stayed for some open gym time where you have access to the entire area to play as you like.  We were there with another mom who has an eleven month old girl and a nanny with a boy who was one.  We got to talk about the kids, hobbies, reality tv quality tv programs, you name it.  It was just what Jax and I both needed.  I did notice that we need to work with Jax some on how he interacts with other kids.  He was constantly pulling on the other kids' hair.  Not good, so I guess we need to try to stop that though I have no idea how.   I was hesitant to enroll in these classes (they are not cheap!) but I am so happy we did, it was a great way to spend the afternoon.  The fact that my kid sleeps forever after a class is just an added bonus. :)

I grabbed the camera during open gym time to take some shots for Jasper to see.  Here are my favorites.