My daughter hit another milestone today … redneck as it may be, it still counts.
She went up the McDonald’s play Place!!
Not quite by herself, but with her 6 year old bodyguard. a.k.a. Big Brother Gage
She was such a brave little darling up there among the boogers and bacteria and germs !! She managed the stairs like a pro. The last time we were there – two months ago – i wasn’t yet ready to let her try it. Also, one of the motivators of going is to get my son run ragged before coming home. If he’s toting along his little sister, he wouldn’t get very far.
So she’s two now, and she’s super independent and confident, so i figured why not? Worse case scenario, there’s plenty of grease to get me up to fetch her if she gets stuck and can’t come down. Much like her older brother did to me when he was 3. He made it aaaaaaall the way up to the top of the ‘tree house’ at another play place and he freaked. Refused to come down. I had to squeeze my clearly Mc Donald’s nourished body up the circular stairway to talk him down.
Fun times.
But today, i was a little worried as i watched the giant 7 year olds trample through the play house careless of who they used as a speedbump. My son had it covered, though. Sheriff Gage was on the job. At one point i heard him call out to a kid trying to climb down the step Gemma was heaving herself up to, “Hey! Watch it! That’s my baby sister!” and then half a beat later, “Do you want to come play with us?!” .. and the girl did! Dont ask me how he does it, but he sure has *it*. Once up at the top, I saw my son come barreling down the tube slide. Right behind was a beaming 2 year old Gemma who jumped up and started yelling, “FUN!!! FUN!!! Slide again!”
And off they went. At least five more times.
Then it came time to leave.
mwahahahahaaaaa yea right, mom. My 6 year old is just now getting the hang of leaving (most) places without a full out tantrum. The 2 year old? She followed him down the steps, three steps from the bottom she’d turn around and run back up.
Threatening to leave her there was useless. I think she was secretly hoping i’d leave without her, to be honest.
Half an hour after i planned to leave, we left. To her credit, she only kicked and screamed initially when i pried her little chunky body out of the playhouse. We may have kicked someone on the way, but hey. Much like the Shamu Splash Zone, do not get an upfront view of the play house or you WILL suffer some consequences.
So all in all it was a great day! As a bonus, we got home and she took a three hour nap!
I tried as well, but somewhere between my first and second kid, i lost the ability to fully nap. You have to have narcolepsy or the uncanny ability to go full comatose to get any sleep around here during the day. Between the daytime gardening, the myriad of backyard barking, and the bathroom runs and stair runs i’m much too light a sleeper to get a nap done.
Unless it’s 3 pm and i’m on the couch, and Sesame Street is babysitting my daughter. For some reason, i’m able to catch a 20 minute cat nap … but this happens about once every 6 months.
Sarcasmica 