Gymboree!

Today Benjamin and I started a class at Gymboree called The Thoughtful Observer: Becoming Engaged in the World. It's for babies ages 0-6 months and their parents. At 4-1/2 weeks old, Ben was the youngest in the class by a few months but he was certainly up for the challenge! He did have some fussiness when he became overstimulated at times, but for the most part was fairly alert and interested. Basically the class involves singing perky songs and using tactile objects and toys to help stimulate the babies' senses. Definitely silly at times but the kids seem to love it!

Here are two cute photos from the car ride to our class. In the second one Ben looks like he's not certain that he really wants to be going to the "gym" with Mom but is mulling over the idea!:

Presenting Ben's class: Jack, Carolyn, Julia, Teddy, Dawson, Ray (not pictured since he was afraid of the Gymbo puppets and was crying in the background!), Isabelle and (drumroll) Ben. The other children were anywhere from 3-6 months old. Most of the activities actively involved mom and baby, but some were solo activites for the little ones. I had a good time interacting with the other moms while the babies explored on their own for a few minutes.

Little Benjamin preferred to be swaddled during his class instead of just being on top of the receiving blanket like the others.

Ben was mesmerized by the silly Gymbo puppets that we used to "sing" to the babies and shake over their heads for visual stimulation. He stared at ours and even smiled once for it (where's that camera when you need it?) Judging from the cries around us, he seemed to like them even more than some of the "big" kids!