Oliver goes to the gym too!

As the SAHM of an energetic toddler, one of my goals is to leave the house at least once a day. This keeps him stimulated and me from going stir crazy. It's not hard to do; we try to go for a walk every morning if the weather cooperates. Then there's always Target or the grocery store or the mall. But since those involve me pushing him around in a stroller or a cart, they don't really fulfill the "keeping him stimulated" part. So I've been trying to find playgroups and activities. My friend Monica had written in her blog about their visit to "My Gym," a children's fitness center that has locations nationwide. It sounded like so much fun, that I immediately looked it up to see if they had a location near us, and hooray, they do! So Oliver and I attended a free session to see what it was like, loved it, and got a membership! They have classes for different age groups, with age-appropriate physical activities, songs, and toys. It is somewhat structured, but includes some free time to just play on the equipment. Can you guess what Oliver's favorite part is?


If you guessed "ball pit!" that would be correct, and you win a million smiles! Of course he loves the ball pit! One day we went a little too close to nap time, and he almost fell asleep in it. I'm not kidding. They also have soccer balls, basketballs, beach balls, and big bouncy balls. He loves them all. Seriously, if I didn't re-direct him towards some of the other activities, that's all he'd play with!

He also loves the swings, and in the few weeks we've been going, has grown more comfortable with the staff and more adventurous with the equipment. Check this out:


They had a swing attached to a zipline, and ran the kids back and forth. Wow, did he love this! I know the picture is blurry, but I love the look on his face!

So this weekend we didn't make any big plans or travel. We needed a break after last weekend! Instead, we went to a Saturday morning class at My Gym so that Marty could see what it was like in person. Then spent some time walking around the mall, eating lunch, hanging out at home, and then going out for ice cream. Just a nice summer Saturday. Because I tend to be the photographer of the family, the result was a little father/son photo essay of our day. Enjoy!


In "circle time" singing songs and warming up those muscles.

Swinging with Igor (the instructor). Oliver loved this too!

Daddy catching him.


On a regular swing, smiling at Mommy


And at Daddy


Eating lunch at Moe's. My boys love to eat!


"Hey, you gonna eat all that? Can I have a bite?"


That night, after dinner, we got ice cream at this nearby farm that has a creamery, some animals, and beautiful scenery. Oliver wanted to go play with the cows.


Checking out the baby bunny rabbits. Dad: "What does the bunny rabbit say?" Oliver: "Hop, hop, hop."

I know, the perfect way to end would have been a photo of them crashed out on the couch at the end of the day. Sorry, but Oliver doesn't crash until after we put him in his crib these days...too full of energy!

Five Sweet Things (from the weekend)

1. Gotta start with homemade ice cream from a farm creamery. Yummy!!! I don't care that it wasn't low-cal/fat/carb....sometimes you just have to experience the truly wonderful sweet things like this.
   
2. Our very healthy meals on Sunday (to make up for Saturday), included dinner of salmon, a side spinach salad, broccoli, rice. Dessert was peaches and strawberries (love summer!).
   
3. Walking an hour Sunday morning in the unbearable heat. I think the amount I sweated out had to count for at least an extra hour!
4. Short hair is cooler!
5. Watching Marty & Oliver play together, the sweetest!