We started out in KidZone, which used to be the Berenstain Bears park. There was a foam ball factory in there which Isabel was OK with as long as she was in my arms for the first 10 minutes or so (there were loud noises that scared her). Eventually she was OK with getting down on the floor and helping me gather foam balls to load into the Ball Launcher! The very first ride we took her on was a Thrill Ride Level 2 (Grandmas and Great-Grandmas, gasp here). It was a rowboat where she sat in between Daddy and Mommy and the ride went around and round and rocked back and forth a bit too. She was never scared, but a bit reserved at first, but by the end she was laughing, grabbing onto the bar for leverage, and when the ride ended, she signed "more"! We have a photo but it doesn't capture the joy she really felt on this ride!
We wandered around the Kiddie Park hoping for more rides that we could go on with her, but unfortunately were disappointed that most rides only allowed the child to go. Obviously, she is far too young to be able to ride a ride by herself! So, off to the waterpark we went. I had thought to bring her swimsuit and a swim diaper last minute, so once we saw how few rides there actually were for her to partake in, we were happy we brought it.
The waterpark was a HUGE SUCCESS! When we got there she had been fussy, as she was getting tired. But the minute her little feet were put down on the bottom of the wading pool, all thoughts of fussing or sleep were a distant memory. She was MUCH braver than we thought, venturing toward the big fountains in the middle, leaning down and splashing herself in the face with water (and then laughing), and pushing our hands away when we tried to hold her hands, knowing that she would at some point slip and fall. We ended up "compromising" with her by using the straps of her swimsuit as "handles" so that we could pick her back up when she started to fall. Around and around and around the wading pool and baby lazy river she went, climbing in and out all by herself (under our watchful eyes and while we hung onto her "handles"). She would have spent hours more in that pool if we had let her, I think, but I was starting to worry about the sun even though I had liberally applied SPF 60 sunblock on her several times already! We got LOTS of great photos and hope you enjoy them as much as we have!
Next she had a snack of a pretzel with cheese, "bopped to the beat" of the music show outside the 50's Diner, and went on the carousel twice (once with Mommy on a bench and once with Daddy when she finally became OK with sitting on a horsie). Then we decided to call it a day. Came home, ate dinner, gave her a nice bath to wash all the sunblock and fair grit off, and had her promptly in bed at 7:00 (she was a very tired girl).
(P.S. Mommy and Daddy each managed to sneak in a real thrill ride while the other stayed with Isabel. Mommy went on the roller coaster Renegade, which I haven't been on yet since I was pregnant with Isabel the year it came out, and Daddy went on Extreme Swing. We each had to get a tiny taste of the thrill rides we love so much, or we might have been just a tiny bit jealous of Isabel getting to have all the fun!)
I am sure there will be more Valleyfair stories to come this summer!
Holding onto her "handles" helping her get in and out (and in and out) of the baby lazy river!
She had just splashed herself in the face and thought it was quite hilarious!
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