Where my Baby can be a Kid.

Shoes. Tiny, purple shoes. Tiny, purple shoes sitting alone in a giant red cubby at Chuck E. Cheese's. She's all grown up.

When we made our annual trip last year, she couldn't go down the slide without help. Now she's climbing around in the tubes? It was almost enough to make me cry. Almost. Wow, what a different a year makes.

She wasn't up there alone. Her sweet Uncle Daniel took one for the team and helped her navigate the elevated maze. It was kind of adorable. She was really enjoying herself. And then Chuck E. Cheese came out. She saw him in her peripheral vision from 50 feet away behind plexiglass and still insisted on maintaining a death grip on her uncle at all times until she reached the bottom of the slide.

To say that she and Mr. Cheese got off to a rough start would be an understatement. She eventually warmed up, thanks to gallant Uncle Daniel stepping in again to lend a hand. She spent the majority of her time in front of the animatronic Chuck, dancing and waving. When he ended his "show" and closed the curtain, she'd go in under it saying "Where are you Chuck E.?"

 

 We played a few games (Skeeball was her favourite by far), we rode a few rides...

...we kissed a few purple dinosaurs. Okay, just the one. 

Teagan ended up winning a Golden Ticket, worth 10 tokens, but since we hadn't paid for any of our tokens to begin with, I felt a little cheeky cashing them in.

Aunties Kristina & Nicola and Uncle Pablo worked their fingers to the bone playing Operation, Skeeball, Deal or No Deal and tons of other games in order to win a sweet prize for their niece. Feast your eyes on the Chuck E. Cheese hat and bag (accessorizing already). Doesn't get much sweeter.

 

Until she shared her winnings with G-Pop. It got infinitely sweeter.

While her devoted aunts and uncle making baskets, I was making memories, spending a good chunk of my time posing for sketch photos - LOVE them!

 

Shout out to all my siblings who've scored us major stuff at Chuck E. Cheese in the past. They call me "The Haw that Got Away", being the only one who wasn't lucky enough to work there. My Mum's on a first name basis with anyone who's ever worked there - she's kind of a legend. Thanks to all of them for maintaining solid relationships with the right people so we can enjoy tons 'o' fun. Nicola's the Employee of the Year as far as we're concerned. Not suggesting that she's the best employee they have, but she's the sibling currently employed during this particular annual visit so we give her an extra "Da Doo" ("Thank You" for those of you who don't habla Teaganese.)