I am amazed on a daily basis by how gymnastic my daughter is. (Is that a word? Gymnastic? It should be.) About a month ago, she started doing what we call the Butt Bounce-while standing still, she would suddenly jump straight into the air, then stick her legs straight out and land on her butt. On the carpeted floor, but still! We couldn’t figure out why it didn’t hurt! Then we got a new couch, and she discovered that the cushions made a perfect landing spot for her Butt Bounce. But it still wasn’t bouncy enough for her.
Then one afternoon while Chris and I were laying on our bed on our sides, heads propped up with Kaitlyn in between us, she suddenly stood up and did the Butt Bounce. Her butt must have bounced a good three inches off the bed, and she broke into a smile and clapped for herself. And then did it again, and again, and again. When that got boring, she stood up behind Chris’ back, then with no warning let out a screech and launched herself directly over his body, at the last second tucking her head and FLIPPING onto her back onto the bed! We were stunned. Especially when she stood up, turned around, and did it again. And again, and again. Screech, launch, tuck, flip. Over and over!
I checked with our Parks & Rec department, and they start tumbling at age two. So it looks like next winter Kaitlyn will finally get all the tumbling her little heart desires. Because eventually the couch and the bed aren’t going to be safe enough. I wish we had one of those play centers I see people post photos of, full of big padded mats and climby things, but we don’t. The closest thing is the playland at McDonald’s, which is filthy and smells like feet. No thanks. I’ll just have to keep finding ways for my little Mary Lou to get her bounce on, right here at home.
That’s real Mary Lou artwork!
Ummm — this is soooo ironic.
I broke my arm when I was five years old because I was watching the 1984 Olympics and thought I could do the same things Mary Lou Retton could do. Needless to say I had my arm in a cast for 8 weeks and my mother was none too pleased!
How cute! Especially that she’s getting her bounce on with Elmo there…
Oh wow!
Hey, I linked to you while doing Tina’s Tuesdays.
http://tinastuesdays.blogspot.com/
http://yesmyopinioncounts.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-answeres-to-tinas-tuesdays.html
Twitter: pz5wjj
says:
How cute! And a bit scary! My boys like to do the “jump of death” from the sofa to the ottoman and they push the ottoman out farther and farther until they can’t jump that far anymore. I had to put a stop to that!
I know they have exercise videos for kids. I wonder if they have some kind of tumbling/gymnastics video for toddlers. You could do that at home until she’s old enough to take the class at the Rec center. What a cutie she is!
Wow! Yep, someday we’re all going to be watching her on TV in the Olympics! I’m sure she’ll take gold, too!
Twitter: blm03
says:
Gymnastics class at 2 isn’t quite what you think it will be. Been there, done that. Spent the entire time chasing.
That’s so cute!
I saw this title and thought, “Wait a minute. I was just at Elizabeth’s last weekend, and I didn’t see Mary Lou!” Now I understand…
Gotta love the butt bounce.
Love it!
As a former gymnast I say go for it girl!
My son just learned how to bounce from his butt to his knees back to his feet on the trampoline. Then he came inside to show grandpa and it was not as comfy on their living room floor. Heehee
Twitter: Table4Five
says:
Lisa, Yeah, I have a feeling you are right about that!
Twitter: Table4Five
says:
Karen-HA! I was hoping I wasn’t showing my age by referencing Mary Lou Retton-people do remember her, don’t they??
Twitter: Table4Five
says:
Sarah, we need to have a playdate at your house so Kaitlyn can try out that trampoline
Love your post! My daughter is almost 2 & does the same thing. I joke & say that my daughter is the next Mary Lou Retton too (thankfully she doesn’t have the hair cut like I did when I was young!!!). I definitely admire my daughter for figuring out how to do all of these things (creaging a ladder to climb things, rearraning the pillows to jump onto, etc.). I love her confidence & spirit!! Keep enjoying all of these moments (and capture them on video!).
Twitter: Table4Five
says:
Melissa-What a thrill it was to see this post linked on the Graco blog! Thank you and I’m glad you liked the post