Winterpalooza

Last month before Christmas, (another late post--imagine!) the kids participated in their very first Winterpalooza at our gym! The program was staged as a competition, where the students in the recreational programs (who don't normally compete) have a chance to perform routines on the different events, and experience some friendly competition with scores and medals and ribbons and jazz. 

I was coaching my own class during the event, so I didn't catch Marie and Erik's routines in their entirety, but I was able to sneak a few peeks while waiting to switch events...I caught lots of smiles and at least one good wipeout!

Wipeeeouttt!!
(I got to witness it first-hand!)

They did four events-vault, bars, beam, and floor:

(He did awesome on his second attempt!)

And I found out that I make some pretty awesome faces while spotting:

Full credit goes to Peter, who took on the task of snapping lots of pictures in my place (you know how painful that can be for non-picture-takers) which made me happy since I got to see on the camera what I missed in person. Also many thanks to Gran, Granddad, and Ethan, who were present to cheer on the kids during the competition--all four hours of it.

Both kids had a blast, and Marie even chose to get on the podium for a photo-op after the gym had cleared out, and begged to take her medal to the pizza place (the clear lunch of choice following any Winterpalooza) and school the next week to show it off to everyone she saw.

The whole program showcased the many reasons I am so thankful for our gym. With all the years I spent in a gym, I've seen many different environments, and it's clear that this isn't just any old gym--it's got something special going on. I appreciated the fact that they concentrated on the little things at the Winterpalooza (a personalized score card and ribbons for everyone, scoring so that every child could stand on the podium at least once, handmade 'bouquets' made of Dum-Dums just like the bouquets of flowers Olympians get)--but even more than that, I am so encouraged by how much they care about each and every gymnast. As I watch my own kids in this environment, it's obvious how both are just flourishing in the programs and gaining confidence to help overcome their unique challenges. We weren't sure that a certain someone would even participate in the program because it was so performance-related, but we all agreed to give it a try; and aside from not wanting to receive an award on the podium, it was all smiles and full-out participation. That, in itself, was monumental for us. I'm so thankful for the accommodations and understanding of the kids' coaches (one of whom is the owner), and their ongoing willingness to work with the kids and adjust to their needs, regardless of how much out-of-the-box thinking it may take. As an staff member, it's a great feeling to be a part of. And as a mom? It's priceless to know that my kids have a safe outlet where they are comfortable, loved, cared for, and understood. It's the best thing ever to watch them overcoming obstacles and gaining confidence, one accomplishment after another!

I loved the look on Erik's face when he was presented with his medal--and we had to coax him
off of the podium because he was so busy showing the crowd his very own bouquet of candy!

Yet another one of those little things about our gym: the owners are constantly decorating for the current holiday--Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, etc.--and as Christmas rolled around, they set up a tree and made little stockings by hand with the name of every child in every class, which they got to hang on the Christmas tree prior to Christmas. Then they filled the stockings with candy canes before the last class of the year so the kids could take them home. It was fun to participate in the tradition with my class, and awesome to watch my own kids delight it it--especially Marie!

They're very bummed that they have to wait a whole year until the next Winterpalooza. But in the mean time, Marie has grand schemes to have her birthday party at the gym, and we spend lots of Saturdays at open gym where Ethan also gets to bounce and flip around.

I'm currently searching for fail-proof ways to protect my eardrums from all the shrieking and cheering that happens when I remind them it's a gym night. But truth be told, I have the same reaction whenever it's my night to coach. It's funny to think that none of this was even on our radar at this time last year, but turns out it's exactly what we all needed most!