Aquaphobia

May 1, 2014 by
Sunburns? Check. Scratchy throats and dry skin from air conditioning and hot winds? Check. Sun-induced comas? Check. This can only mean one thing…heat wave! With every day this week being dry, windy, and 90+ degrees, it’s been challenging to find things to do outside. It’s been too hot to go to the park, especially since the girls still crawl the majority of the time. Not a good combination when you throw scorching sand and hot plastic play equipment to the mix. 
We have a pool in our neighborhood and several more pools just a few minutes away, but the thought of one or both girls somehow escaping their inflatable tubes and sinking while I have to make a split-second decision as to who to save first, is a pretty powerful deterrent. Not to mention I have no idea how I would actually get both wiggly, 25-pound toddlers into or out of the pool safely by myself. Until Jake can go with us on the weekend or I find someone without kids/with older kids who won’t drown if they fall into the pool to accompany me and be assigned a twin to hold, that option is out. 
On Monday, I was super excited to bust out the inflatable pool for the girls so they could play out on the mostly shaded patio. They had been eyeing the mysterious pool on the patio all morning, and by the afternoon, I figured the water would be warm enough to let the girls finally have at it. (Side note: Samantha is wearing the ugly blue hat because it’s the only one I have with ties. She’ll rip off anything with velcro, and even unties the knots on her blue hat sometimes). 

This is about the extent of their interaction with the pool. It probably lasted about 10 minutes and they haven’t touched it since, even though I’ve been filling it up everyday. After the girls splashed the water on the outside for a while, I tried putting them in the pool, which they hated. I even got in the pool to model how it’s supposed to be done and they looked at me like I was nuts. In their defense, even with the hot weather, the water was still pretty cold by the afternoon. That said, it still felt so good to cool off under the scorching sun, and for the life of me, I don’t know why they won’t play in it. Geez, girls, sue me for trying to keep you cool and entertained!

Fortunately, we live in an area where there are tons of water activities available for little kids. Yesterday afternoon, after Jodi got off work, we met up with her and Maliyah at one of the splash pads nearby.

It’s hard to tell in this photo, but while Amelia is clearly thinking this sprinkler is the best thing since teething biscuits (or maybe just laughing at her sister), Samantha is bawling hysterically. Despite the fact that A.) The sprinkler shoots a very gentle mist of water and B.) Samantha could have walked away from it at any time, she just stood there, paralyzed and crying, while I, of course, laughed and took pictures. It was hilarious! Even after I picked her up and wiped the water/tears streaming down her face off with a towel, it took her a few minutes to stop sobbing. I really hope she’s not going to need therapy for that later on.

A close-up, for good measure. 

Amelia loved all the little sprinklers popping up everywhere. After her traumatizing experience, Samantha wouldn’t go near them. 

Next to the splash pad, there was a little playground in which the girls placed for the majority of the time. 

Ganging up on poor Maliyah in a failed attempt to steal her ball. 

It’s a wonder Maliyah is still friends with these crazies!

Amelia had a look of intense concentration on her face as she tried to chase Maliyah, who was a very competent walker and got away easily. She even managed to keep her adorable sunglasses on her face while running away. Impressive!

Samantha had a much better time climbing on the play equipment than playing in the water. 

Amelia kept looking over at the splash pad like she might have been interested in going back, but since I couldn’t be in two places at once, we hung out at the playground with Samantha. 
Meanwhile, back at the splash pad, Maliyah was trying to get her friends to come on over and join the fun. No luck! I’m sure we’ll be going to the splash pad again soon and the girls were hopefully enjoy it more next time. 

Local celebrities! While the girls were eating a snack, two other 14-month-olds walked over to say hi to the girls. The one in purple, Sofia, desperately wanted to get in the wagon, but Samantha and Amelia took it as an attempt to steal their snacks and went on the defensive. That’s no way to make friends!

Back at home, we lathered on the aloe vera and wound down after a long day in the sun. 

Everyone got a good night’s sleep, sunburns and all.

Lots of love,

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