She Finally Rode the Big Horsey!

Last Wednesday, we went to have lunch with Grant at his work. When we were done eating, we took a little walk around campus, and Eleanor started jabbering on about how she was going to ride a horsey. Grant and I didn't have a clue what she was talking about, so we just kept walking. Then, she started asking us, "Where the horsies?" and we were forced to respond that we didn't know. So, she kept telling us we were trying to find the horsies. All we could come up with was that maybe one of the buildings had reminded her of the carousel, even though she hadn't been to the carousel since Christmas time.

I had to run some errands on Friday, so I asked Kelli if she and Larissa wanted to meet us for lunch at the carousel to ride the horsies. I told Eleanor that morning that she needed to be good and get dressed so we could go to the carousel. (She always takes motivation to cooperate when getting dressed. Are all kids like this, or just mine?) The word "carousel" meant nothing to her, but when I told her we were going to ride the horsies, she was shouting at the top of her lungs in excitement, "I'm going to ride the horsies!" If I asked her if she was going to ride a big horsey or a little horsey, she would say, "I wanna ride a BIG horsey!" All I could do was hope that we were talking about the same thing, and when we got to the carousel, she wouldn't be terribly disappointed.

We had a nice picnic lunch with the girls, played on the slides for a little bit, and then went to ride the horsies. Eleanor was just as excited as she had been that morning, so I think there was no error in our communication. We haven't had many trips to the carousel, mostly at Christmas time with the Matthews family and maybe one or two trips with friends in between. The last time I remember her riding on one of the big horses without crying to get off was when she was three months old, her first Christmas, and I think I had her on one that didn't go up and down so it was easier for me to hold onto her. I'll have to look back at the pictures to be sure, though. Every time since then, she has maybe started out okay, but as soon as things got moving, the crying and clambering for Mommy began. This last Christmas, Grant and I were absolutely amazed we actually were able to coax her onto one of the baby horsies next to the wagon that doesn't move. After the first time, she loved it, and wanted that same horse every time. We couldn't get her to branch out to a bigger horse.

But look at her now!
It also really helped that she was with her good friend, Larissa. As soon as we got in the gate, Larissa took off for the horse of her choice. I met some reluctance from Eleanor when I tried to convince her to get on the really tall horse next to Larissa, but as soon as I phrased it, "Do you want to ride this horsey that's next to 'Rissa?" she was eager to get on. Then, as soon as things started moving, Larissa let out an elated, "Weeee!" which Eleanor quickly mimicked. It was smooth sailing from there. Eleanor kept a happy, white-knuckle grip on the pole while Larissa doled out beauty queen waves to the crowd.

I stayed right next to Eleanor the first time around, trying to keep the excitement alive, lest the fear set in. Then I took pictures on our second go-round.

Larissa, Kelli, and Eleanor.

Kelli and I are waddle buddies together for the second time. That cute little pooch she has is Larissa's baby brother. Can't wait to meet him!

After riding the horses, we told the girls we could go see the big boat-- about the only way to convince them to leave the carousel without a tantrum. They had fun running on the way back. Those little legs can move. It's so cute to watch these little girls running together. Eleanor loves to run with a buddy-- especially when they're her size!
Running back to us.
Thanks, Kelli and Larissa for a fun day at the park. We'll have to do that again real soon!