Alex was a bit trepidatious when we first arrived at one of the three kiddie pools. Like she usually does when thrust into an unknown situation she sat on my lap and silently observed the action taking place around her. For about 10 minutes or so the two of us sat in the shallow water and watched as the other kids and their parents splashed and played around. After a short while Alex began to loosen up and she started venturing out. She didn't exactly cut the cord but she did move about 6 inches away from me so that was a start. After she ventured out she discovered the joy of splashing and she would walk, stop, squat, and splash. She thought that was just the best thing ever. Soon after she discovered she could actually sit down in the water and propel herself around (ah, the beauty of being weightless in water). So, she did laps around me, every now and then climbing onto me so that I could dip her backwards and get her hair wet. I don't think her big semi-toothy grin ever left her face. After a while my sister and I decided it was time for a break and we all sat under the tent drinking water and eating goldfish (an appropriate water park snack if you ask me).
After snack time my sister said there was another kiddie pool that had slides. While Alex is a slide fanatic I never would have guessed she would be into it because I imagine it would look scary to a 17 month old. I was wrong. The minute she saw the slides she was ready to go. All it took was one or two times to show her the proper way to go up the little stairs and slide down and she was on a sliding high. Generally speaking I would get her started then "run" as fast as possible to the other side of the slide where I could coax her to eventually sit down and then catch her at the end. I think Alex got just as much enjoyment climbing to the top of the slide as she did actually going down the slide. She was oblivious to all of the other children clamoring behind her or cutting in front of her. She had her eye on the prize, the top of the stairs, and she was going to make it. Once she got to the top her expression was priceless as she beamed from ear to ear, all six teeth showing, and she laughed as she sat down. She was so proud. Once at the top she would sit down and inch forward until she was sliding down and into the water laughing the whole time. Even the few drops that had her going underwater completely didn't faze her. Instead I would lift her up and she would be laughing and pointing at the other slides for another go-round.
One thing I truly appreciated was the help from other parents. Alex was probably the smallest one playing on the slides and most of the bigger kids either didn't see her in their quest to get down the slide or didn't have the patience for her slowness. Surprisingly, if one of the bigger kids got a little too pushy with her the parents were quick to jump on them and tell them to back away from the baby. It was refreshing that the parents were even around and that they said something at all. I also had help when Alex would get too excited that she had made it to the top and wouldn't sit down to go right away creating a bit of a back-up. A few times a parent would reach-in and sit her down. Otherwise, we might still be there, waiting for her to slide.
Unfortunately, Marcus missed out on the action because he was busy working which was a huge bummer. I wish he could have seen her face every time she got to the top of a slide. I hope that memory stays with me forever. It makes me anticipate more of those smiles and the many accomplishments I'm sure she will achieve throughout her lifetime.
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| Fearless |
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