It’s another Friday, and time for Carrie’s Friday Foto Finish Fiesta!

We’ve started an awesome new class at The Little Gym.  They have parent-child gymnastics up to age 3 (at age 3, they start doing independent kid classes).  And if you’ve got a little monkey on your hands like I do, toddler gymnastics is the way to go!

The Little Gym has all of the characteristics I like in a class (unlike my nemesis, Gymboree).  There’s structure and routine (songs, warmup, exploring, activities, bubbles, goodbye), but while the adults are strongly encouraged to model participation in each activity or song, it’s more than acceptable if the kid decides to wander off on the mats.  Age-appropriate, and twin-friendly.  Hooray!

There’s fine-motor activities like sticks and bells.  There’s tons of gross motor running around, swinging from the uneven bars, learning how to roll down an incline, and even walk on the balance beam.  My kids loved it.  Rebecca liked doing a log roll, and after one or two demonstrations, LOVED climbing up on the mat, leaning forward to grab the bar, and swinging on her own!  Then she’d let go, land on her feet, and repeat.  What a monkey.

Daniel loved it, too.  And was particularly receptive to help from our teacher, Miss Erika.

My kids are currently the oldest ones in the class, as the stated age range is 10-18 months.  We may switch to the next age group (19 mo – 2.5 yrs) in a couple of weeks.  There are good parts to being the oldest, but once they’re really comfortable on the equipment, it might be nice to be the youngest and have older kids to look up to.

The only down side is the cost.  It’s an expensive class, and they only give a 10% discount on the second child.  Plus, it’s about a 20-week semester, so that really adds up.  A few sessions in, though, and it feels like money well spent.  It’s clean, very accessible, teachers are enthusiastic and friendly, and they have a very generous make-up policy if you need to go on a different day.  Plus, if you’re unhappy, you can withdraw and get a refund for the remainder of the term.  I’ll take it!

I don’t know if I’m just having a tired day, or if skipping the morning nap actually kicked my ass that much.  And it’s not as though I ever sleep during the kids’ morning nap, but apparently it has been serving a very important recharge function in my life.

We did a trial class at The Little Gym this morning, to see if we want to sign up for the Winter/Spring session.  It’s a pricey place, especially since they only offer a 10% discount on the second kid, so it was nice to be able to do a trial run.  The people were very nice and welcoming, and I think it’s a very cool program.  The trouble was that, because I had a scheduling brain fart, I signed us up for a mid-morning class.  I was thinking ahead to the winter, when I anticipate they will have dropped the morning nap.  Except, well, they haven’t done that yet.

We got in the car extra early, in the hopes they’d either doze off or at least have some quiet time before class.  Mixed results.  Rebecca did fall asleep, Daniel was clearly drowsy but stayed awake.  This led to a cranky Rebecca (in a new place with new people) and a somewhat fragile Daniel.  Ah well.  The problem was, when class was over, it was still only 10:45.  Gah!  What to do!

We played outside, played inside, turned on Sprout for a few minutes.  Had an early lunch, and I got them into their cribs at 12:30, easily 45 minutes earlier than usual.  And instead of 30-45 minutes of talking and shrieking, this time they were silent within minutes, and they slept nearly two hours.

Sounds like a good thing, right?  Then why do I feel like I’ve been hit by a bulldozer?!

I’m sure I’ll get used to my new reality when it happens.  But I’m glad we can keep the morning nap around at least for a little bit longer…  It’s exhausting to keep them entertained from when they wake up until lunchtime!

Though it’s a balmy 60-something degrees today, I know that winter is fast approaching New England.  Fall is this crazy up and down, sometimes 65, sometimes 45.  But then, all of a sudden, winter smacks you upside the head.  And you can sort of forget to prepare for it, when you’re contemplating your Thanksgiving menu on a sunny, 70-degree day and otherwise getting caught up in the holiday season whirlwind.  But the next thing you know, it’ll be January.  And with two toddlers on the verge of giving up their morning nap, I need to be prepared.

‘Tis the season for activity signups.  I’m already registered for the next age group of the developmental classes we take.  15-to-20-month-olds, Thursday afternoons.  Check.  Registration for Music Together, which I’m looking forward to trying out, starts in two weeks.  I’m thinking Wednesday mornings.  There are two gymnastics places nearby that I want to investigate, and have sent emails to try and set up a visit or trial class. As far as organized, paid classes go… I need to stop there.  Fees are adding up quickly, and while I think it’s worth it (especially in the winter, when playgrounds are not as accessible), I don’t want to go totally overboard.

I also finally got around to buying winter jackets and snowpants.  Old Navy was having a sale, and $20 each seemed a lot more reasonable than the nicer-but-pricier ones at LL Bean.  Either way, I have quickly realized that, even if temps are dropping, my kids still want to play outside a lot.

In the meantime, I need to stay on the hunt for good free outings.  Library story hour does the trick, though we went today and Rebecca had a complete meltdown when I informed her she wasn’t allowed to keep the stuffed animal she played with while we were there.  Eventually, back in the car, the Harness Buddy proved to be an acceptably cuddly substitute.

A nearby mall recently installed a small play space near the food court, so that’s an outing with readily available snacks, but to avoid unnecessary shopping, I don’t want to go all the time.

I’m suitably jealous of those friends who actually semi-finished their basements in order to have some indoor play space.  M and I both went downstairs, hoping to see what we had been missing all along, but no dice. Our basement is fairly damp, and though not tiny, has no good space that would work for finishing. Boohoo!

To the cold-winter mom friends out there: any good ideas for wintertime outings or activities that you’d like to share?