Today I took Henry to his first gym class. I think these are more popular in Europe than in the US, but the basic premise is that a group of parents and babies sit around and do little exercises and sing songs. Henry was fairly nonplussed by it. I do a lot of those things with him at home. Or if not those exact things, I play with him, so it wasn't so extraordinary to be bouncing around on my lap or extending his arms while singing songs. But he was interested in the other babies, and they were in him. We will definitely go back each week.
At one point they have you put your baby on the mat, face down, and then the parents go to the other side of the mat and call to their babies and throw balls at them (no I'm not kidding. but the balls are soft). They looked like little turtles ready to have a race. Anyway the baby next to henry rolled over practically onto Henry and started grabbing Henry's head. Henry didn't mind; he was just kind of like, "Oh, Hi. What's up?"
Henry also did two "somersaults." Essentially you hold him at the hips and flip him upside down, lower him to the floor between your legs, and then roll him onto his back. The teacher said he was very advanced at this considering he had never done it before- that most babies, the first time you invert them upside down freak out.
I was pretty proud of him, actually. Many of the babies were fussy throughout the class, but Henry just took it all in and enjoyed himself. Oh, and at the end he absolutely loved the bubbles. It was crazy; almost all the babies were fussing by the end, and then the teacher blew bubbles, and all the babies became silent watching the bubbles. note to self: invest in bubbles.
The biggest challenge of the class was my not freaking out about germs. There was one baby who had a goopy looking eye. The mother was very nice to me (was British so spoke english) but nonetheless I tried to steer clear of his general area. Also they hand out various props-- bells, drum sticks-- and some of the babies put these in their mouths. I obviously didnt let henry put them in his mouth, but I do wonder if they clean these props between classes. I tend to think not. Anyway I know, I know, germs are good for him, which is why I resisted the urge to squirt hand sanitizer all over all the other babies.
Oh, and I met my neighbor. I got talking to one mother at the end, and it turns out she is my neighbor accross the street. So we exchanged numbers. And just to tell you how small Luxembourg is- she had already "heard of" me. Here's how. When we first arrived, Raph's company hired a relocation agent to help us get settled. The relocation agent took it upon herself to give our contact informatoin to another of her clients, because they were from Israel and jewish (I guess there aren't so many jews here and she figured we'd want to know each other). Raph and the guy exchanged e-mails, and then the guy gave Raph his wife's phone number so I could call her. I should have, but didn't. Anyway, tihs neighbor is friends with the Israeli wife, and so had heard that there was a Jewish American family living on her street. Voila. So now we three are going to get together I suppose.
Okay, and I can't resist, so I'll just say it once: there are a lot of unattractive babies out there.
Tonight we are having Raph's coworker and his wife over for dinner- the same people who invited us to their wedding (they are already legally married, but this is the church and celebration that we are invited to). I'm making salmon.
And the last bit of news for LC/ Avon folks: I got an email from Nick Bozzuto- he and his wife had a baby last year. I am awaiting details. Also Justin PF had a baby recently also- a boy named Bennett. Heather is friends with Justin's wife, so I get his news via her. Having a baby myself doesn't make me feel old, but knowing that Nick and Justin have babies does!!
