Sesame Place

Have you ever stood in line at an amusement park with a 2 year old? Until last week I hadn't either. I cringed at the thought of entertaining Katelyn in lines. Our waits to check out at the grocery store typically go horribly wrong. I couldn't imagine how she would do watching something fun while waiting for more than a minute or two. 

Kate, Mom, and I with Bert & Ernie - July 2012.

Last Monday we visited Sesame Place for the day. I thought Katelyn might last 3-4 hours before total meltdown time. My mom didn't tell me, but she was expecting about an hour or so of fun before we would need to leave. Katelyn shocked us all. She made it from 11am until 5pm. Six hours total. Sesame Place is half water park/half carnival rides. We started in the dry portion and then moved on to the water park in the afternoon.

The first ride had a rough ending. She had never had to leave something so quickly. With the language barrier we still experience, plus being 2 years old, she cried & cried. The more rides we went on the better she got. Although she was antsy to get on, her behavior got better and she knew there was something else to look forward to as the ride ended. Tears did not continue. In the end, this is the #1 reason I am happy we took her. Patience is key in life. Being an amusement park primarily for toddlers, this was a great place to teach this lesson since everyone (at some point in the day) had a crying toddler as well. She learned more about patience at Sesame Place than I can teach her at home.

 Just before visiting the water park we were lucky enough to see Bert, Ernie, and Abby Caddaby. Seeing the characters in real life was surprising and exciting to her. We also saw a parade that included all of the characters from the show singing and dancing down Sesame Street. She had her typical concerned/overwhelmed face on the entire time. With sensory overload, many times I would expect a child to be laughing and dancing, Kate has concentrated and statue-like body language.

Kate's favorite was the water park. My Aunt Kathy and cousin Sam went with us too. Sam was great with Katelyn in the water park. They went all over the place. He let her explore, and always saved her when necessary -- she knows no limits sometimes!

Katelyn's favorite ride -- Rubber Ducky

Her favorite ride in the park was the Rubber Ducky water ride (seen in the picture above). All five of us sat in a huge tube that went down & around in a big water slide. Lots of splashing and big dips. Being over 8 stories high at the top I wasn't sure how she would do. We practiced the sign for duck saying "quack quack" while doing the sign. After we finished the ride, she tried to walk back to the entrance. For the next hour or so before we left the park, she kept doing the sign and saying quack each time she saw it. I love when she gets excited enough to initiate signs and language all by herself. 

Kate Splashing around in the 1-2-3 Count Pool

Overall it was an amazing day. So proud of my little one for learning so much and having fun while doing it!