Gymnastics meet

Yesterday Kylee had her first ever gymnastics meet.

We really had no idea what to expect- we're new at this whole competition gymnastics thing.  She was excited and oh-so-cute in her new shiny leo.

We got there in plenty of time and soon the people started flooding in.  It was in Triad's North Gym- where Kylee had never been before.  She found her teammates and looked so happy.  It wasn't long before the moms around me all started talking, "I am so nervous for my daughter! I haven't been able to eat all day!"  That should have been my first clue to how intense the meet would be.  I, of course, had no problem eating all day and wasn't feeling the least bit nervous for Kylee.

Warming up. 

A pep talk from one of her coaches.

The girls lined up and then split up- Kylee's group was on the beam first, and she was the lead-off gymnast.  (I had no idea that this was similar to being the lead-off hitter in baseball.  In other words, Kylee went first for a reason.) She hopped up on the beam and was doing great.

She went to dismount, but she thought she was supposed to do a tuck jump and land on the beam, a move that is certainly not expected of girls at her level- in fact even the older girls at the meet didn't do that move.  She was supposed to tuck jump and land on the mat on the floor but in her attempt to land on the beam, she slipped and landed hard on the beam. She had a pretty good raspberry that needed some ice.  She was more shaken emotionally than physically, and if you know Kylee well, you know it takes a lot to make her cry.

I went over to talk to her and she was pretty down.  I know she didn't want to continue but I never doubted for a second that she would pull it together. Even at this point, I wasn't feeling the nervousness that other moms were expressing.  My confidence in Kylee is so strong.  She did her floor routine with tears in her eyes, but she did it.

Beam and floor routine happen to be her least favorite of the four, so while it was unfortunate she had to start with those, I think it really challenged her to push on and finish strong.  Next up was vault, where she was the first of any of the girls to land the jump on her feet! My heart burst.

She's starting to come around...

But she's still a serious competitor.  This is right before she starts her run to the vault. 

She sticks the landing!

Saluting the judges with a smile on her face.

A great score!

Last up was the bars, which she loves.  Always has. Her impressive arm strength often draws comments from other parents who watch her play at the park in our backyard.

Well now I'm just shamelessly bragging but she was the only one that the coach didn't have to hold onto during this move. 

Another perfect landing!

And she's back.  My smiley, happy, Kylee.  

At the end, three girls from Hot Shots got called up for special awards.  You should have seen how her face lit up when she got called for Best Effort!

A proud, well-deserved and hard earned salute.

My little gymnast.

What a day it was, you guys! It was a great experience for Kylee and I couldn't have been more proud of how she handled the ups with such grace and the downs with such resilience.  She really showed the true heart of a competitor and I was excited for her to wake up this morning because I had a little news for her- last night the coach of the older girls e-mailed me saying that after seeing Kylee's performance at the meet, she'd like to invite Kylee to move up a level! Kylee starts tonight and I can't wait to see what all this gymnastics world has in store for her!