Oh 'Water" Feeling!

I shall begin with the question I posed to my own Mother when I phoned her to share a moment of parental joy and triumph this morning.. "Did you feel the magic in the air this morning?"

I have joked for some time that the Mini's appear to have some sort of H2O allergy that prevents them from enjoying traditional summer water play with their peers. As nice as it has been to skip drippy kids running about the house or dampening the family vehicle I couldn't help but feel that the offspring were missing out on quintessential childhood memory making opportunities. It is August and I haven't even brought out the wading pool since for the most part my crew has been playing with full wading pools from the outside.

So this morning we were off to a local splash park with an adjoining playground. We hadn't ever been to this particular park but I have suited the kidlets up more times than I can count to similar locations just to be prepared, each time returning home with dry children in dry swimsuits.

Today I took a lesson from our history and we headed off to the splash park with regular clothes and a picnic lunch. I figured the waterphobic wee ones could benefit from exposure to the joys of water play whether they participated or not. To my shock and amazement....the Mini's both played in the water. Bailey continues to feel wary of the scene but did wander through a bit. Hayden played enthusiastically once he gave it the old preschool try....

Hayden took several turns hopping like a frog in the water.

Sweet Bailey was tickled to catch the froggy spray while Hayden was enamored with tickling his feet.

Bailey kept busy walking the gutters as if they were balance beams...she definitely picked up some skills at gymnastics this summer!

For the boy, it seems that the wetter he got, the bolder he got. Luckily I was able to pick my face up off the concrete long enough to shoot pics!

Charge!

You can always count on the slides for some fun - even if you are less than dry.

Ahhh, the face of my happy boy. What a fabulous morning for the Mini's and all who adore their quirky yet tenacious grasp on life. As we packed up I mentioned to Hayden that I was so proud of him for deciding to give the water a try and that I would have felt that way even if he decided not to like it. He gave me another of those precocious full-faced crinkly-eyed grins that he inherited from his Daddy and said, "Mommy do you know what the best part is? I REALLY liked it!"


We look forward to soaking up the fun another day soon!