New experiences

This week included several new things--besides throwing up. (Yes, throwing up was a new experience for my children.)

1. Mary's first dentist visit. Mary is uneasy in new situations, so I was careful to prepare her by watching lots of videos on You Tube together about going to the dentist. Unfortunately, I think this only resulted in giving her a lot of unnecessary anxiety. Oh well. At least David LOVES the dentist (seriously!!), so he could give her pep talks. As expected, David was super at the dentist. He loved every minute, from the X-rays to the cleaning to the latex glove balloon. Mary, on the other hand, cried from the moment we walked in the door and WOULD NOT STOP. I thought I was going to go deaf from the CONSTANT WAILING. Her crying eased up just a little when the dentist gave her two toothbrushes. (Mary loves toothbrushes even more than David loves dentists.) Dr. Reddy seized the moment and quickly performed an exam and cleaning. Mary cried the WHOLE TIME. Dr. Reddy is a fabulous pediatric dentist, so he was fast and gentle. But I was sure Mary thought she was being tortured and would be scarred for life. A cleaning for a TWO-YEAR-OLD could not be worth the future therapy bills. Dr. Reddy assured me that she was doing just fine--that he would be worried if she were thrashing (which she wasn't) or if she weren't crying (which she was). Before I knew it, he was finished. Not only did the crying stop, but Mary thought she was such a big shot. She was so PROUD OF HERSELF for getting her teeth cleaned. She marched around the office like she owned the place and then waltzed out to the car on a cloud of SELF CONFIDENCE. And to think I almost stopped the cleaning. I guess sometimes it's good to let your children be tortured?
2. Swimming lessons. Okay, so swimming lessons are not new. David has been taking swimming lessons for a million years, it seems. And, besides the weeks he had awesome lessons in Park City, he still can't swim. We tried lessons here at the Y. The price was right, the class size small, and the teacher nice. But he wasn't learning anything! So I finally gave in and we joined WinKids. My gut tells me I should be morally opposed to this place on some grounds, but I can't put my finger on why or figure out which grounds those would be. Besides, everyone else is doing it. Hmm...maybe that's my problem. I suppose I am a contrarian by nature. (I guess that explains that Mormon Democrat thing.) So what is new in our lives is not swimming lessons--but swimming lessons at WinKids. David LOVES WinKids. It's like some kind of magical place or something. (It is a really nice facility.) And he LOVED his lesson. He had a giant, comic-book grin plastered on his face the whole time. He was so happy. And I was happy because I think these lessons are going to be more productive than the last ones.
3. Gymnastics. With our membership at WinKids, we can try out different classes. This morning we all tried out gymnastics classes. David was NOT excited about it, but he is generally compliant and open to new experiences, so I was able to drag him along. When we arrived, I realized the session he was scheduled for was part of a dance/gymnastics combo. Meaning, his class was filled with a dozen girls in tutus who had just come from a ballet class. I started panicking. I knew there would be more girls than boys, but I didn't expect David to be the lone male in a sea of pink tutus. David is very aware of "girl stuff" versus "boy stuff," so I fully expected him to balk at going into the gym. But he marched right in. (Phew!) Then Mary and I rushed off to a toddler gymnastics class. It was wonderful! I was very pleased with the instruction, the facility, and the curriculum. It was productive (learning happens) and truly age-appropriate. Mary wasn't keen on participating in most of the group activities, but she loved exploring the equipment--swinging from bars, jumping on trampolines, and diving into the foam pit. Her favorite, though, was the balance beam. She mastered it over and over again. She's so tall and slender and graceful (and coordinated) for her age--she looked like quite the little gymnast. Afterwards, we rushed to pick up David from his class. I saw just the last minute or two. He had a big smile on his face. He came bounding out of the gym and announced, "It did be GREAT!" He told me he learned how to do a cartwheel and that his favorite part was jumping. So, all in all, it was a successful morning at WinKids. Successful enough for me to permanently give up my Saturday mornings for gymnastics? I don't know if WinKids is THAT magical...