Fresh Water Only

I mentioned in a previous blog entry how excited Annabelle was to see the ocean from the balcony when we arrived at Ocean Reef Resort on Monday. She was ecstatic!

But, on Tuesday when we ventured down to the beach, and Annabelle saw the ocean from up close, the first words out of her mouth were "NO!" She would NOT venture anywhere near the ocean. Every time we would even suggest it, she would emphatically say "NO!" We even offered to carry her to the ocean, but she would have nothing to do with it.

I told her that I would force her into the Easter Bunny's lap against her better judgement, but I would not force her near the ocean. Poor baby! If only she had known how to say the word "NO!" back when we visited the Easter Bunny in March. I probably would not have pushed her into the Easter Bunny's arms if she had known the word "NO!" then.

I can understand that the ocean is very overwhelming and scary to a 19 month old though.

After our trip to the beach on Tuesday, we went up to the room around 12:00 p.m., and we had a snack before heading back down to the pool. We took Annabelle to the children's outdoor water park. This is a description of the outdoor water park per the oceanreefmyrtlebeach.com website: "Giant tiki men stand sentry over this adventuresome water park located in the "U" the resort creates. Enjoy a perpetually sinking ship, giant water bucket, dripping palm trees, and the friendliest sea serpent around!"

On Tuesday, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with the outdoor water park. Again, we heard "NO!" We didn't want to force her, so instead, we tried the kiddie pool next (only 1 foot of water). I told her it was like a really big bath tub, but she still wasn't interested. I finally managed to get her to get in with me. She pretty much just stood there. And then, we tried the adult pool. We put her in her float (that I found at a garage sale last year), and she was fine after that. The resort also has a lazy river, so hubby and I both grabbed tubes ourselves, and we floated around the lazy river. The lazy river is apparently my hubby's favorite thing as he has said he could stay in it all day long.

On Wednesday, we tried the water park again. Once again, she was reluctant, but this time, we at least got her near the pool of water. Once she saw her floatation device, she was fine. We put her right into it without her pitching a fit or a fuss, and she waded (more or less walked) around the water park (only 1 foot deep). I took her out of the floatation device at one point because there was another little girl about her age (22 months old) walking around and playing in the water without a floatation device, so I thought Annabelle may would like to do the same. She wasn't a big fan! She tried to walk, and she fell face first into the water. She swallowed some chlorine water and she coughed it all up, but she didn't freak out. I realize even more now how easy it is for small children to drown in only a foot of water. If I had not been nearby (right next to her) to pull her up from the water, she could have freaked out and been unable to pull herself to her feet (in only a foot of water)! Very, very scary!!!

The best memory I have of Annabelle in the children's water park is of her floating herself under the dripping palm trees with her mouth wide open as if she was trying to drink the water, even though she wasn't. The 22 month old girl had walked back and forth under the dripping palm trees, so Annabelle found that interesting herself. She had a blast! At that point, she did not mind getting wet.

Now, ever since we ventured into the water park this afternoon, Annabelle will walk by the water park and just point and make sweet, joyful sounds. She even said "pool" today!

So, she's not much of a fan of the beach or the ocean, but she LOVES the pool!