"I water?"

We took Grace to Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor/outdoor waterpark and hotel for her 2nd birthday. There are three of these hotel/waterparks about an hour drive from where we live, but I chose this one because it seemed to be the one that had the most for toddlers to do. Grace is still too small to go on the biggest slides and rides, even though she would, if they let her. What I liked about Great Wolf is that they had slides and other interactive water activities especially for the youngest kids. They also had and indoor dry play area, story time right before bed, and a huge clocktower in the lobby that peformed a show at different times throughout the day. I was thrilled to be able to book a room for the day of her birthday, since it was Memorial Day weekend.When we first arrived at the indoor water park, Grace seemed very nervous. I was surprised and thought this might have been a mistake. It was her first experience with an indoor pool and there was a ton of activity with fountains, pools, slides, and people everywhere. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised that she was overwhelmed at first. But she warmed up and showed us what a true daredevil she really is! By the end of the day on Saturday, she was saying, "I water?"- her way of asking to go back to the pool.

Kyle took Grace on this slide first. At the bottom was a 2-foot deep pool (which I skinned my knees on) but this quickly became boring as he sent her down a big, fast, curvy slide. They suggested that you be 48 inches tall to ride, but they were really good about letting adults decided what their kids could handle. So Grace got to experience the rides that she might not have in another place. On Sunday morning before we left, we all had a great time riding tubes down huge slides. We had to climb three flights of stairs just to get on the ride!

After initially not wanting to wear a life jacket, Grace realized how cool it was to relax and float. You should have seen her smile when she was doing this!We also tried the outdoor pool in the late afternoon. It was a zero entry, which is great, but it also scared us both because Miss Independent didn't want any help.So, we eventually put the life jacket back on her...just for peace of mind and to allow her a little freedom. Don't be fooled, though. That shadow in the picture is Kyle!In the evening they did a little show at the clock tower and I loved sitting on the floor cuddling with my birthday girl as we listened to the singing and some stories.At the end, they asked the kids with grey bracelets to come up front (you get these if it is your birthday) and everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her one last time.On the way home today, Grace was saying "happy" in the back seat. I think that means she had a good time.