Last year we went to a birthday party at a community center about a half-hour away. The center is very impressive with incredible indoor pools. Baby E was only a few weeks old at the time. I was able to leave E strapped in her carrier in the stroller in the party room while I took Jessie swimming.
In the weeks leading up to the party I thought frequently about the baby-sized life vest that’s in Baby E’s closet. Every time I thought of the vest I told myself to put it in the car or I’d forget it. When Grammy, the girls, and I were about six miles from home was when I thought of the vest. Since Grammy wasn’t going to swim, she could watch E.
Last year Jessie was intimidated by all the jets and water fountains in the shallow pool. She wanted to walk up to the top of the stairs and go down the slide, but she couldn’t go through the wall of water between the top step and the landing. This year she went all the way to the top of the structure and down the slide. The lifeguard at the bottom caught her and held onto her until I could get back down. Jessie went up the stairs on her own many times while I waited at the bottom of the slide. I was so proud of her.
In the party room Jessie did the crafts and then waited her turn on the Diego team. There was two piñatas: one Dora and one Diego. Instead of whacking at the piñatas with bats, the children pulled ribbons to open the bottom. Jessie picked up so much loot. She did better than with any other piñata.
After the party we met Daddy and Papa at Saltgrass for dinner. We had a lot of fun.