Gymnastics Photos and Funny Phrases

Here's what's been making me laugh the last couple of days:

Harper's room, 1 a.m., Harper knocks on her door and says, "I want dinner." Huh?

After spinning around, Harper stops, sways, and says, "My house is fahying (falling) down."

Harper has a habit of narrating about the scenery while we drive.

Today she told me there were two kinds of trees. "Yook Mommy, there's bof (both) trees! Pine trees and bird trees!" Apparently she hasn't ever seen a bird in a pine tree.

Later, during the same drive, she got all excited about a bunch of birds on a lawn. "Yook Mommy, there's a mommy wobin (robin) and a daddy wobin and a brudder (brother). . .(pauses). . . There's a fyock (flock) of wobins!"

"A what?!" I ask.

"A fyock. Yots (lots) of wobins make a fyock."

"Oh, a flock?"

"Yes, a fyock!"

How the heck does she know what a flock is?

And now, for the gymnastics. These photos are from last week, but we were there again today. Today was the first day she tried all the elements of each station without any cajoling on my part. The first couple of weeks she spent a good ten minutes not wanting to do anything except go down the slide. Seems she's finally warmed up.

Here we have the "tumble track" which I imagine older gymnasts use for learning to flip and things (The black part in the middle is like a trampoline). The little ones are supposed to do "open-close" jumps on it; think jumping jacks with less arm action. Harper just runs down it like a maniac until she careens off the side or the end. Today she did dial it down long enough to do one or two actual jumps.


Last week the instructors totally turned Harper's universe upside down by placing the end of the slide in the pit of foam squares. They also covered the entire thing with a parachute, making it a little dark in there. Now Harper loves the slide and the pit of foam squares individually, but she was totally unsure about the combination.


By the look on her face you'd think she was sliding into a pit of snakes or worms or broccoli.


But she was cool with the arrangement once she realized the foam squares were the same ones she'd happily jumped into the week before.


She's also getting the hang of the bars. (Get it? Hang? Bars? Ha ha ha. Please try not to be too astounded by my wit.) Eventually the children are supposed to let their parents or the instructors help them pull their feet up and flip around the bar. But I'm just happy Harper will hold on and pick her feet up off the ground.

Which she now does with enthusiasm.


I figure she's got plenty of time to learn to hang upside down from things.

Finally, on the potty training front, today Harper went to gymnastics, to the library, to a friend's house, and out to dinner -- all without diapers! Not one accident today. Although I did get up three times during dinner when Harper said, "I haf to go potty!" As we were leaving our friend's house, actually pulling out of the driveway, she said she had to go. I asked if she could wait a few minutes until we got home. And she said yes. It took us about ten minutes to get home, Harper fell asleep during the ride, and she still managed not to wet her pants. I am cautiously optimistic!