Baby's Day Out! Amusement Park Edition!

Today, I'm blogging :) Telling stories & getting back to my writing roots.

Sunday, my sweet little Noah got to do something he's never done before--he went to an amusement park! The offer came to us, a week ago, as part of his grandpa's company picnic day; free tickets & a day out with not one--but two--of Noah's grandpas! Awesome :)

Before the trip. The days leading up to the trip, I was caught between anxiety, excitement and complete worry. I worried: is he tall enough to ride the rides? how hard will it be to keep him safe & near me? what if it rains? is he too sick to go? 

Then, I thought: I better pack two cameras! I'll get a new baby go-bag for our stuff--yes! I can't wait to see his face when he sees the roller coasters all over the place!

Noah's been sick for the last week. My mom asked me if we were still going and I told her, "If I was a little child, I'd must rather be sick at an amusement park, than sick at home :)" She absolutely agreed :) 

I got him all packed up and ready to go

• two outfits, snacks, two cups, two cameras etc
• some baby wipes & Boogie Wipes (for his face & hands). 
• Most importantly, Sonic... Sonic the Hedgehog. 

Noah's Best Friend 

Noah has really been into Sonic the Hedgehog for the last 4 months. He plays Sonic on the Wii & DS: I believe, to him, Sonic is real and "lives" inside of the tv/ds ♥. He will ask me to turn Sonic on any tv and just let him be on there during the day--he's not even playing it. He has a Sonic shirt, hat, blanket & stuffed animal. What matters most is that he has his 1991 Limited Edition, Anniversary Special, Discontinued, Collector's Item, Sonic Action Figure... I got it from Marshall's for $8. 

The two of them go everywhere together. 

Sonic takes a bath with him, washes his hands with him, eats dinner with him, he rides shotgun in Noah's booster seat cup holder and, of course, he sleeps in the bed with him. 

Our life would not be the same without this Sonic action figure; I feel like we know the guy.

 This really happened

Are we there, yet?!

One hour later, we arrive at our destination! Noah saw the roller coasters from the highway and was already excited! He didn't know what they were, but he knew he wanted to check it out. We smuggled in his happy meal that we bought on the way (he hasn't eaten a real  meal in days; he's sick) and ran inside to meet the PawPaws :) Some employee took our picture at the bridge and told us about a special Halloween Trick or Treat event for the kids on this special day! 

So far, so awesome!

Noah was completely mesmerized--elated--as we went to the children's area of the park. He was running with one hand tightly gripped with my hand and the other hand tightly gripped around Sonic. He saw his PawPaws as we entered near the Carousel--wow! He's at an all-new place AND his PawPaws are here! 

*stoked!*

The first ride we took on was the Carousel; I know, risky, right? Thrill level of 1 out of 5 :) Three turns later, we left the carousel to ride the train with our PawPaws (one is my step-dad, the other is my PawPaw, too). Then, we rode this really cool little ride that goes around the park on a rail; it's up in the air and it's like a train, too.

PawPaw suggested that we ride the really fast, spinning pirate-ship-cars-thing. It goes around in a circle and each car will spin around while its moving around, up & down. Noah couldn't have ran any faster to get in line for this thing! We got on it and--I'm telling you--this thing flies!! Oh my goodness, I was soooo dizzy, but it was soooo fun! Noah was yelling and throwing his arms in the air; I was gripping onto him for dear life and holding Sonic in my hand, against the safety bar. When the ride stopped, I stood up and fell back into the seat! ah hahaha! I get dizzy easily since I was pregnant; just one of those fun changes :) 

Noah rode the kiddie boat ride with his daddy, got in line for the cruisin' cars ride (left, because it was so long), then we went back to the carousel, of course! My baby needs a no-waiting pass to ride the carousel as many times as he wants to, because he truly loves that more than anything else in the world, now :) 

Noah: Carousel VIP.

Icee will make you feel better. My sick little one would drink an Icee, but wouldn't eat or drink anything else. It came in a really cool, swirling cup that's like over a foot tall:  A Child's Dream Come True.

We ran all over the park, doing everything that a 46 inch-tall boy can do. He's tall for his age, but he's still my little baby. 

Noah and Sonic had a great time on the cool ride that goes up in the air and spins slowly so you can see the whole park/area. It's a low-thrill ride for anyone--old, young, short, tall, even for Sonic. Sonic got to see the city from the very tall ride. Noah loved watching the huge roller coasters loopty-loop around the park from our sky-high-view. 

The Rapids

The last ride of the day. It's 80 degrees. At the very front of the park, there's a rapids ride. It's a favorite of most people and the line is insane. During the summer, the line for this thing is so long, they actually have a maze that includes ramps and stairs in and out of it. During the Fall, this maze is empty and you have to run through it to get to the front of the line. 

Noah, Sonic, Dada and Mommy all arrived at the loading area where the boat was turned the wrong way, so we had to wait on another one to come in. This upset my little Noah, so he started crying for the boat to come back. A second one comes up and the employee told me that we had to leave, because he was crying. I thought he was kidding; I mean, seriously. He said that the company policy is that kids cannot get on the ride if they're scared and crying. I'm like, "Noooo, he's crying because he wants on it!" As soon as we boarded the boat/tube the guy knew I was telling the truth :) 

I sat beside Noah and had us all fastened in and ready to go. I was a little apprehensive that we would get super wet, but figured that in all the years I've been on this thing, that has never happened, so we're safe. I had my iPhone hooked inside my shirt to my tank top to keep it dry (I'm wearing two shirts). I had my arm around Noah and Dada was sitting across from us. 

"Here we gooooo!" (as Noah says!)

Man, it was moving so fast! It spun, it twirled, it raced down the rapids. Noah was SO excited! I mean, he could have had hearts and smiley faces coming out of his ears--this kid was stoked! I was excited, but kinda worried (remember, I get dizzy, now). I had a bear grip on my little Noah as we whirled through the track and into the final stretch that passes the waterfall... but, wait, the waterfall was huge today! It was flowing right in the spot that we were approaching... this can't be... this has never happened before... 

SOAKED

Oh. My. Goodness. Y'all.

We were completely drenched. My iPhone got soaked, so Dada and I were wrapping the phone in clothes and cramming it in the baby bag. Noah was squealing with delight! He loves water! He loves rides! He just got soaked on a ride!!! 

Then, the unthinkable happened...

My very excited Noah tossed his best friend, Sonic, into the rapids and away he went...

"Nooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!"

It was a natural instinct to save Sonic  but not in the rapids... we just had to watch him float away. All of the memories were flying through my mind--Sonic eating Happy Meals, taking baths, attending birthday parties, sitting in the shopping cart, getting his eyes dilated at the doctor's office (really)--and the thought of the future, too. I was devastated. What are we going to do, because he doesn't realize that we can't get it back. Noah's still happy and he's smiling at Sonic as Sonic gets to ride the waves right out of there.

I asked about getting him back and they said it isn't possible. 

On the way up the stairs, Noahs says, "Sonic?" and smiles. I didn't know what to say.

We met the PawPaws outside of the ride & changed Noah's clothes. The little girls--from the other boat--were flirting with him as they changed their shoes etc, next to us. I loved how sweet they were to him; it really warmed my heart, especially, after what just happened.

Halloween Area

We stopped at the Pumpkin Patch and Halloween Party area on the way out--pure fun! They had candy, mazes, decorate your own pumpkin, characters that were giving out candy, a puppet show, games, bubbles, foam to play in. It was the perfect ending to our trip :)

A Real Souvenir 

I went to pick up our souvenir photos (from the beginning of the day) and there he was... little Sonic, tightly gripped in Noah's hand. 

That photo will always bring back a ton of memories for me/us. I even bought the key chain version :)

Our Sonic!

When we got home, I went straight to Amazon and--thank you Jesus--there was the 1991 Limited Edition, Anniversary Special, Discontinued, Collector's Item, Sonic Action Figure!! 

Thanks to Amazon Prime, we got free 2-day shipping! I'm so excited to see Noah's smile when his friend, Sonic, returns from the amusement park ;)

In case he doesn't believe it's the same Sonic, I've got that covered. 

His gift note:

"To: ♥ Our Sweet Noah ♥ We're glad you enjoyed your first trip to                  ! Sonic will get to play there every day! Here's a twin Sonic for you to keep at home :) ♥ We love you!!"

We had a wonderful time with our family! I cannot wait to take him back for another adventure. 

...I'll order more Sonics and put them up--just in case ;)