I have been meaning to enroll Savannah in some sort of lessons at the Y for ages now. I always seem to just miss the sign-ups! And I couldn’t decide between gymnastics and swimming. I knew she’d love gymnastics – she loves to be active, running and jumping and climbing. I also knew she’d love being in the water, and it’s very important to me that all my kids know how to swim.

I was really excited to see that our local Y offers a class called “Gym & Swim”. It’s 45 minutes of gymnastics and 45 minutes of swimming! And it was cheaper than the price of two separate classes. So I signed her up and today was her first day.

This weekend, I showed her YouTube videos of toddler gymnastics so she would have an idea of what to expect. She’s already familiar with swimming – I’ve taken her into the pool at the Y several times now and tried practicing the basics. She was sooo excited. The class wasn’t until 4:45, and all day she was begging to get dressed to leave. I don’t think she understood when I tried to explain that the class would still start at the same time no matter when we left. ;-)

We got there and she joined the other kids in the gym with the instructor. There were sooo many kids – like, 12. It was crazy and disorganized. Paul and I were both surprised that there was only one coach with that many preschoolers. Savannah enjoyed the obstacle course, but by the end of the 45 minutes she’d lost interest in the routines and just wanted to play. (It didn’t help that the coach was soo distracted that the line kept getting held up.)

When they were done, the coach came up and apologized. She said there was a misunderstanding and next week there won’t be as many children. She also said Savannah told her that her name was River, which confused her because she didn’t have a River signed up. We laughed and explained that it was her middle name, that her first name was what she went by.

After that was swimming. She was already in her suit, so we just walked through the locker room to get to the pool. I usually avoid this time of day because it is crazy-crazy with all the after school kids programs. Today was *no* different. The weird thing is that I completely lost track of all the kids who were in the gymnastics class. I spotted three of the girls, but I never did see anyone else. Everyone was coming and going – it was so crazy. The pool area was echoey and loud, and we stood there for a few minutes looking lost while I desperately searched for some of the other kids we had just been with 5 minutes ago so I’d know where to go. Finally I spotted a couple of girls, so I verified with the swim coach that it was the right place. He asked Savannah her name. We couldn’t hear her, but then he said, “River?” He looked to us for confirmation. We nodded and laughed. Sure, she’ll be River. (It was too loud to correct him.) We both thought it was really funny.

He only had those 4 girls so I was relieved it wasn’t going to be 12 kids to one coach like the gymnastics. That’s just dangerous in the water. He was really good with them, and Savannah (excuse me, River) practiced swimming. She was really upset when it was over and it was time to leave. I’m glad she had a good time. :-)

It was a gorgeous day today, so we stopped by the store for some dinner and went across the street to a playground. Savannah found some other kids and we ate and played. Caroline got her first ride in the swing! She laughed and kicked her cute little chubby legs.

Overall, a lovely day. I hope next week is better with the craziness and disorganization! Otherwise I’m going to be a little annoyed since I paid for the class…