Gymnastics

Owen loves Gymnastics!! He started a couple months ago with a new physical therapist and he loves going to the gym! He still calls it "gymbtastics" and he gets so excited to go! I love that he has the opportunity to have a one on one gym class, but can't wait until the day he can join in with the other kids.

Since Owen didn't start walking until 3 1/2, he has low muscle tone in his legs.  You can see his little feet rolling and scrunching to try to stabilize himself.  We are picking up his custom foot orthotics tomorrow.. I can't wait to see how much they help him!

Owen is getting more used to the trampoline each time.  He is very cautious and nervous when switching surfaces he walks on.  The best way I heard it explained is that a child normally learns to walk around 12 to 18 months.  At that stage of development, they don't understand cause and effect as much and so they will jump from surface to surface with little fear of what might happen.  Owen started walking as a preschooler and he is very aware of danger and is extremely cautious.  We are working on it  and he has come so far in the past couple months.  He is brave enough to jump on the tramp and he'll let us play don't crack the egg and bounce him.  Huge improvement!

He also loves this tumble track.  Daddy came to the gym with us a couple weeks ago.  You can see him in the foam pit.  He walks down to pick up a foam out of the pit.  Then he carries it down the long tumble track and we collect them on the other end of the gym.  He loves to build houses with all his foam blocks.  It's really fun!!

The three yellow lines on the tramp are there to tell the gymnast that this is the end of the tramp.  Owen always dives from the front of the first yellow line onto the blue mat.  He usually won't step on the yellow lines at all.  He is getting braver.

The yellow tramp is my favorite!!  It is mega bouncy and Owen loves it.  He doesn't bounce on his own yet, but I know he will soon.

Owen's favorite part of the whole hour is the giant foam pit.  It's a large pit of foam blocks, full of a million germs.  I cringe every time, but no one has gotten sick yet.  If you've ever been in a pit of foam, you know how difficult it is to climb through.  I'm sure the lighter you are, the easier it is to climb on the top of the foam.  I kinda sink and it's a workout to get from one side to the other.

You can see how hard Owen is working to crawl through.  He takes a few brakes along the way and sometimes we give him a little boost. 

Nothing beats seeing this awesome smile when he knows he has accomplished something big!  He gets so excited that he wants to go back in!

Owen's least favorite part of the gym is the balance beam.  He walked across all 8 beams the other day, but you can tell he was only doing it because he was told to.  It's not something he would choose to do.  He also loves the rings and the monkey bars, but I don't have pictures since I have to help him hold on and spot him.

Owen is warming up to his new Physical Therapist.  He has so much fun and always asks to go to the gym.  I am loving the change in his gross motor skills.  He still has a long way to go towards "catching up," but he will get there!   We use a ton of hand sanitizer and many trip to the restroom to wash our hands.  As long as Owen continues to stay healthy, we can continue to go to the gym every week.  I am so happy he has this opportunity!