I can't recall if I mentioned that we are taking a hiatus from gymnastics. This happened in the Fall - November or so. It's funny, because the amount of guilt I felt over this was ridiculous. Like there was actually some part of me that thought I was doing Owen, and the world at large, an injustice by depriving them of his gymnastic fabulosity. Really! He did enjoy it, after all, and he has a natural strength for that kind of stuff. But the fact is, it was killing me. Owen listens well sometimes....and in certain situations, typically around groups of other children, not so well at all. To be fair, I do remember Natalie having similar (if not so extreme) issues in gymnastics at that age as well. But chasing Owen around and fretting about him sharing the gym equipment was stressing me out so much that it had turned the whole experience into a very negative thing. Owen got in trouble, I got angry, and then I would feel bad when I would invariably lose my temper. The next level for him would have been the 3 yr old class - one he would do on his own with me watching from behind a glass wall. I just wasn't sure if he would listen better to a teacher than to me (though that seems the case in preschool) and he needs to be potty trained (topic for a different post, but suffice to say it's not going well) for that class. So we quit. And I felt such relief. Yes, somehow I did get over the worry about depriving the world of his gymnastic prowess at age 3. Someday I think he will go back.
He does still need a lot of....let's say...exercise. His favorite thing outside (and inside until he gets too crazy) is hockey. The boy loves hockey. He loads himself up with pretend equipment (pretend skates, pads, helmet and mask), even asking me for help putting it all on. He has informed me that his skates...pretend, invisible skates...are not tight enough, and has taken issue with the pretend mask/cage I put on. He must take after Jim, being so particular about his uniform - even when it's pretend. He also has a game called Monster Hockey, where he wants me to be a hockey-playing monster trying to take away his puck. One issue with this is that he tends to think it's OK to beat the monster with the stick (the stick and ball/puck are real). So I spend a lot of time telling him his only course of action is to take away the monster's puck with his stick...and never taking my eyes off him lest he bludgeon me from behind. He enjoys the game a LOT.
We've taken him skating twice now. The first time he didn't spend much time on the ice because Jim threw his back out trying to hold Owen up while he pretended to run and wouldn't stand. The second time he spent the first half crying and didn't want to even try, which is really not typical Owen. Then Jim put a hockey helmet on him (real, not pretend) and skated him around, running him into the boards like he was body checking him. Luckily no one called Child Services. Owen loved that! So then I took him around and tried to get him to stand and take small steps (understanding that small, slow steps are not natural for the boy). Instead he crawled across the ice and intentionally banged his helmet into the side boards...repeatedly. He thought it was such fun. Crawl, crawl, bang, bang, bang, and then fall down like the hockey players do. Silly boy. But it led to him getting to his feet on his own, and standing up with a huge smile, saying "I did it! I'm skating!" Well, maybe not exactly skating, but he did start taking steps while holding my hand. Definite progress was made. And he was very happy afterward about his "skating." Look out Ovechkin! I wonder if hockey players need to be potty trained....
He does still need a lot of....let's say...exercise. His favorite thing outside (and inside until he gets too crazy) is hockey. The boy loves hockey. He loads himself up with pretend equipment (pretend skates, pads, helmet and mask), even asking me for help putting it all on. He has informed me that his skates...pretend, invisible skates...are not tight enough, and has taken issue with the pretend mask/cage I put on. He must take after Jim, being so particular about his uniform - even when it's pretend. He also has a game called Monster Hockey, where he wants me to be a hockey-playing monster trying to take away his puck. One issue with this is that he tends to think it's OK to beat the monster with the stick (the stick and ball/puck are real). So I spend a lot of time telling him his only course of action is to take away the monster's puck with his stick...and never taking my eyes off him lest he bludgeon me from behind. He enjoys the game a LOT.
We've taken him skating twice now. The first time he didn't spend much time on the ice because Jim threw his back out trying to hold Owen up while he pretended to run and wouldn't stand. The second time he spent the first half crying and didn't want to even try, which is really not typical Owen. Then Jim put a hockey helmet on him (real, not pretend) and skated him around, running him into the boards like he was body checking him. Luckily no one called Child Services. Owen loved that! So then I took him around and tried to get him to stand and take small steps (understanding that small, slow steps are not natural for the boy). Instead he crawled across the ice and intentionally banged his helmet into the side boards...repeatedly. He thought it was such fun. Crawl, crawl, bang, bang, bang, and then fall down like the hockey players do. Silly boy. But it led to him getting to his feet on his own, and standing up with a huge smile, saying "I did it! I'm skating!" Well, maybe not exactly skating, but he did start taking steps while holding my hand. Definite progress was made. And he was very happy afterward about his "skating." Look out Ovechkin! I wonder if hockey players need to be potty trained....
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