One unfortunate thing about living in a condominium is that the kids don't have a yard. Sure, we have a top floor balcony with rappelling ropes the kids can swing on, but it's not the same as a nice, green lawn full of toys and your neighbor's dog's crap.This is why the kids are always excited when they have the opportunity to run in the park, a backyard, or a condemned dirt lot.
Today, our friends invited us over to their house so all of our kids could have a little playdate. There were a bunch of outdoor toys that excited Emma and Andrew: a slide, a water table, bikes, and the neighbor's dog's crap. But the one thing that interested them the most were bubbles.
I don't believe Lisa and I have ever given our kids bubble toys to play with yet. If I'm not mistaken, the recommended age for bubbles is three and up. Lisa and I aren't super strict with the recommended age precaution, but ever since we allowed the kids to watch The Deer Hunter (By the way, it isn't a sequel to Bambi.), we've tried to become more aware of the "recommended for ages..." phrase.
As we watched all of the kids start to blow bubbles, I noticed our kids were a little confused since they've never done this before. I went to Andrew and showed him how blow bubbles. I dipped the bubble wand in the bottle, pulled it out, and blew. Andrew was captivated and amazed by the bubbles.
I told Andrew it was his turn. He dipped the bubble wand in the bottle, pulled it out, put the wand directly to his mouth, blew, no bubbles came out, put the wand back in the bottle, licked his lips, got disgusted by the taste of the bubbles, wiped his mouth, realized his hands got slimy, wiped it on his face, his slimy hand touched his eyes, his eyes got a little irritated, dropped the bubble bottle, and threw a fit. Wow! That was successful.
Next, I went to Emma and showed her how to blow bubbles. I dipped the wand, pulled it out, and blew. Emma was captivated and amazed by the bubbles.
Apprehensively, I told Emma it was her turn. She dipped the wand, pulled it out, and then...put the entire wand in her mouth. Good grief...please don't let her become a teenager.
Eventually, the kids were able to blow bubbles after a little practice. But this entire incident made me realize that I sometimes forget that there are so many things that the kids have not done before. Something like blowing bubbles seems like an activity that every kid knows how to do, but there's always the first time. And even Lisa can tell you, the first time is often downright awful.
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