Last Saturday, Brody and I embarked on another new adventure in our lovely little town of Holland — our first Tulip Time. As I mentioned after our trip to Dutch Village, for someone who was born, raised and currently works/lives in West Michigan, I’m pretty horrible at taking advantage of all the great attractions/events that make this area such a wonderful place.
After mentioning to my parents and sister what a great time we had at Dutch Village, my mom and Ashely were able to join us as we checked out Kinderplaats at Kollen Park last Saturday. I saw “animals” in the event description and knew that was enough to make Brody’s day.
Unfortunately, the animals weren’t quite as “accessible” as they were last time, so Brody was slightly less excited. He fed some of them carrot sticks and would pet the ones that came up to the gate. I tell you what though, I need a baby goat in my life. Those things are super cute. I’m sure Zora would love a playmate and they’d probably get a long great… with their shared love of eating grass.
There was an inflatable bounce house and slide that I’m pretty sure was Brody’s favorite activity of the day. EXCEPT when the guy in charge told him he had to get out after a few minutes so the next wave of kids could get in. Oh boy. :/ We also climbed up into the Coast Guard boat that was there and Brody thought it was the cat’s meow to sit in the captain’s chair.
With all the rides, games and animals that were scattered throughout the park, my little hooligan wanted to spend 90% of the time on the play equipment. Go figure. I had my first “where’s my child?!” panic attack there. Parents, does anyone else feel that sometimes play equipment isn’t very easy to maneuver through/under/around in order to keep up with your child? Brody was up on the bridges and slides and I was ducking in and out of the equipment in order to stay close to him. I scooted under a slide for a split second and lost sight of him in the crowd. After sprinting around the structure and still not seeing him, I freaked out. Thankfully Aunt Z noticed the panicked look on my face and grabbed Brody and brought him to me.
Gaaaahhhhh………. deep breath.
On Thursday, Brody attended the Tulip Time parade with his daycare group. Especially after Kinderplaats, I was very aware of what a runner Brody was and how much of a handful he can be out in public. Needless to say, I was pretty nervous about him going. Call it being a mom or maybe even a control freak (wait, aren’t those kinda the same?), but not being there to keep tabs on Brody myself just about gave me an ulcer Thursday afternoon. I was so thrilled to hear that he was very cooperative and well-behaved! He sat on the curb the entire parade, waving and telling the passerbys “hi.” Proud mama moment. :)
Well, now that the weather seems to be upswing (in theory), stay tuned for more Brody and Mama adventures as we tackle all that Holland and West Michigan has to offer.
