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Even with Lily here, Willow gets Daddy all to herself

Willow, and a bruised Daddy, climbed to the top of Nashville.
On Wednesday, Willow got Daddy all to herself for a few hours, and the time included her first trip to the Adventure Science Center in Nashville. Even though the place was a bit "big kid" for Willow, she loved it.
Willow loved three attractions above all others: the tower, the ambulance and the giant water table. She also liked watching other kids, big and small, zipping around the exhibits.
The tower. Willow discovered the tower early on, much to Daddy's chagrin. I liked the tower, but if you've been to it, you might know why it was hard for me to keep up with a 2-year-old climbing to the top; tight crawls abound. But I tolerated those tight spots and kept up with Willow the best I could, and we made it to the top (and I didn't suffer too many bruises). Willow didn't want to leave that tower, but I practiced patience and persistence and eventually got her to go exploring elsewhere.
The ambulance. Now this thing was BORING to me, but Willow loved the ambulance, with all its bells and whistles and buttons, built into the floor. Willow spent more time in this relic than on any other exhibit, and parents of older kids tolerated her hogging the driver's seat (and the older kids, much to their credit, yielded the seat to this cemented-in tot). Willow turned the steering wheel and punched the radio's buttons over and over and over. Yawn. But I'm a good daddy who can stand weary-eyed by the immovable truck while his daughter has, well, the time of her life.
The water table. Now I'm sure this water gadget has a very important scientific lesson, but I didn't have a clue what was going on with it (and I don't think any of the bigger kids or their parents knew either). All it was to Willow was the world's greatest water table; it sure beats the heck out of the tiny thing we have in the backyard. Water cascaded down the table, and kids could place tiles
to force the water this way and that. I, and many of the parents, took part in the fun, sometimes hogging the tiles (I noticed some of the other parents actually grabbed tiles to give to their kids ... bunch of snoots!).
Willow and Daddy had a bunch of fun on this trip, and we'll be back a time or two this summer.

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