More Gymnastics

Thomas is loving gymnastics class! he's learned to walk on a balance beam and gotten somewhat over his fear of somersaults. He's doing pretty well at listening to instructions and then following them. His favorite is still jumping in the foam pit and just simply jumping. I'm trying to decide if we'll do it again. I've been a little disappointed because 2/3's of the class is free play. I'm thinking I may wait till the fall when he can be in a real class without Mommy right there. Can't believe it's almost time to be talking pre-school!!

Here he is sitting and waiting for class to start. I thought he looked so sweet.

One more class to go, I'll try to get some better pictures this next time.

Swimming is Over As Well

We had our last day of swimming last Wednesday. He never really got back into the whole lesson thing either, so not too many new pictures. He loved playing on the water and didn't mind playing the games. When it was time to go out and do the lesson part he cried for me the entire time. It wasn't so much that he was scared or that he didn't like his teacher, he just had his own plans. He did however, learn to kick, to blow bubbles and isn't so afraid to float. Jared spent a lot of time in the pool with him over the long weekend and Thomas was happy to do all his new tricks and learn new things with him. Jared even got him to float on a kickboard and kick across the whole pool. My dad got him to float on his tummy with only Papa's hand holding him up. Thomas even managed to dunk himself. So overall, the lessons were a good experience, but dad was the best teacher of all!!

Summer Sports Comes to an End

It sure has been busy in the Matlock household lately! So, I'm a week late on getting this post up (seems like way more than that!!) But, here is Thomas' last week at Summer Olympics where we finally played T-ball. He did in fact love it, but was in a bit of a funk where he had to have Mommy or Daddy right by him and didn't want anyone else watching. I did manage to get some fun pictures between the crying and when he was paying attention. He loved hitting the ball off the T,did a great job throwing and catching, wasn't so into the running the bases with everone and overall enjoyed the evening.

More Swimming Lessons

Well we made it a full four sessions to swimming and Thomas is doing fabulously. Well, I guess I should say was. Here he is on Thursday:

Face in the water, blowing bubbles & kicking!

Sliding down the slide (from a couple feet back, not the top):

Blowing more bubbles:

Putting his face in the water to get the ring:

Today, however, we didn't get any pictures, because he wouldn't leave my side. He started out great and then suddenly decided he had to be with mommy. It was the same story this evening when we went to T-ball. So, it's either another "mommy phase" or it's because we were out of town this weekend. (more on that to come!)

We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Swimming Lessons Have Begun

Thomas just started swim lessons, in addition to his sports classes. I know, he's only 2, I really do! But yes, he is also in swimming lessons. They were a gift (we requested) from his Grammy & Papa for his birthday. Something very important and something he's learning is pretty fun as well!First of all let me explain how this works for 2-4 year olds. Mommy doesn't have to go in the pool! (yeah & let's face it, I can do that for free!) They will learn to blow bubbles, float, kick and to get over their fear. It's 4 kids to 1 teacher. This group is on the four steps going in to the kiddie pool that only goes up to 3.5 feet deep, their section is 2.5 feet at the bottom of the steps.

On Day 1 he made it down 2 steps.

Today was day 2 of the lessons. He made it down to the 3rd step, my personal goal. (Picture shows where he spent most of the class)

Sat for most of it, jumped in the water and kicked with the noodle and while clinging to the teacher.

At the end of the lesson the play "motorboat," (spin in a circle to a little song) the part he's most excited about.

He was pretty much over the whole thing until he heard that's what was next and more than willingly went with the teacher to do this

(unlike for the noodle). After that he put his face in the water several times to blow bubbles, which is huge for him!!

My only goal for the next 6 lessons is that he is part of the class time, excited to go and will float on the noodle without clinging to the teacher. The last one would be amazing!!! But most of all, he is having fun and learning to be a little more confident!

Soccer Isn't His Thing Either

Once again Jared had to remind me that our son is only 2 years old, not 5 or 13 like he's convinced I think. I was again getting frustrated because Thomas was more interested in running circles around me (litterally), holding the ball and bitting his nails than he was in "playing" soccer. I did finally give-in and just enjoy watching him have fun. Unfortunately, the settings on the camera were all messed up and the pictures didn't turn out well at all. So, bare with me as I post really dark pictures!

Practicing kicking in the goal post:

How he spent most of the game:

Thomas' first soccer goal! (Yes, they did all get a chance to do this! Have to be fair, and let's face it, this group isn't stellar on their defensive skills!)

A picture showing that he was in-fact enjoying himself:

And showing some team spirit!:

Sports Are Here!

Last night Thomas started his first city sports. Yep, two years old and he's already a sport pro. Well, pro if it means kicking the basketball like a soccer ball, rolling it like a bowling ball and standing around bitting his nails during the game. Let me start from the beginning. For his birthday we got him "Tiny Tots: Olympics with Mommy & Daddy." It's a program through the city that covers basketball, football, soccer and t-ball for 2 to 4 year olds. Last night was the first class and they started with basketball. There were about 8 kiddos there and at least 2 adults for every kid. It was hilarious to see these little guys make their best attempt. Some of them were pretty good, we even had our own 4 year old tutor teaching Thomas how to properly shoot the ball. They taught the kids passing, dribbling, dribbling and walking, shooting, dunking and then "played" a game at the end. Thomas enjoyed it, but I don't think basketball is going to be his thing. About 3 minutes into the passing section he was over it. Made an attempt at the rest, but mainly just wanted to run around and kick the ball.

I was excited to go, sit, take the pictures and enjoy watching Thomas and Daddy have some fun together. Well, the teacher came out in me and I was right in the mix. Then the Mommy came out in me and I was cheering the kids on as they "played" the game. Hadn't really pictured myself as the shouter on the sidelines... we'll see how that develops. I just might enjoy those soccer (or whatever) games after all.

We are super excited to go back next Monday for some more fun. Anyone want to join in, come on over. Lots of room on the bleachers!