Notes: Thanks to Mari and Sammy for everything as always. Thanks to Mari for bouncing ideas and to Sammy for the title!
Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for all your amazing support!
Hope you enjoy!
A Little Help from Her Friends (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
"Hey, listen to this," Steve said, shifting against the headboard as Catherine came back into the bedroom from the bathroom. He leaned over so she could see the section of the much-read development book he was reading as she sat down. "It's talking about creating challenges to build gross motor skills in toddlers as they become more proficient at walking and are even starting to climb."
"Well, she's definitely doing that. You turn your head for a second and she's trying to get on top of the coffee table."
He huffed a laugh in agreement. Paraphrasing from the book, he continued, "Use a 2x4 as a balance beam. Having to put one foot in front of the other improves balance. Low exercise step to go up and down. Sturdy box to crawl over."
"Wait wait wait," Catherine said, her voice full of amusement. "Are you planning an obstacle course for our fourteen-month-old?"
He quirked an eyebrow. "Maybe …"
She laughed. "Well, I want in on that for sure."
"Of course you do," he said, grinning. "Queen of the obstacle course and all."
She grabbed her tablet from her nightstand and typed in a quick search in the web browser. "Ohh, look at all these ideas. Pool noodle 'hurdles.' A bunch of pillows to jump on. There's your 2x4."
"We've got a couple in the garage. We could sand down the ends."
"Good idea."
He looked over her shoulder as she scrolled through more pictures.
"Hey, you know who'd really get into making this?" he said.
Catherine looked at him and grinned. "I know exactly who you mean."
"This is gonna be the best obstacle course ever!" Jacob exclaimed, dropping several pool noodles onto the grass at the beach house the following Saturday afternoon. He and his family, minus Casey who was finishing up at work, had come over to help Steve and Catherine design Angie's first obstacle course.
Cammie sniffed at the noodles and the other supplies the Allens and Steve and Catherine had collected.
"Okay, Angie's down for her nap, so we have about an hour to set up," Steve said, hands on his hips as he surveyed the group. "You guys are the obstacle course experts, what should we do first?"
"I think the first part should be just walking," Dylan said, "so the balance beam first." He pointed to a spot in the grass at his feet and then walked a few feet straight head. "From here to here."
Cody, holding the 2x4 he and Dylan had helped Steve sand earlier in the week, moved over to where his brother indicated and the two of them put the wooden beam in place. Cammie followed along curiously.
"Then the hula hoops," Kaitlyn said. "We can help Angie jump into them, and then someone can hold the last one for her to walk through." She and Jess set four hula hoops on the grass in a zigzag pattern and held the last one up to demonstrate. "Like this."
"Oh, I like that," Catherine said, from where she stood by the deck with Jenna.
"Then the pool noodles!" Jacob said. "She can step over them in a row." He bent down and grabbed an armful of the cheap, colorful flotation devices. Running toward the hula hoops, he dropped them on the ground, and he and Kaitlyn lined them up with a foot of space between each one. Cammie nosed the bright blue one and gave a little chuff.
"We might have to help her with this, too," Kaitlyn commented, shifting the noodle back.
"We'll probably have to help her with most of this," Catherine said, "but she'll still have fun."
Steve nodded. "What's next?" he asked.
"Then we use the other noodles as arches to crawl under," Dylan said, joining them with a handful of wooden stakes. "We use yard stakes to keep them in place but it's okay, they're inside the noodle so Angie won't hurt herself on them. Watch." Dylan put a stake in the ground and then put one end of pool noodle over top. The hole in the noodle was just the right size to fit over the stake and stay in place.
"You guys really are experts," Steve said, coming over and checking the base of the noodle. He held it in place while Dylan bent the noodle in an arch and secured the other side to the ground.
"They've been making obstacle courses, indoor and outdoor, for a long time," Jenna said with a smile.
"That's exactly why we wanted your help," Steve said, smiling at the Allens. He and Dylan set up two more pool noodles as arches and stood to look over their work.
"I'm gonna try it out so far and see if it's good!" Jacob said, running back to the wooden beam. Cammie, excited by his energy, followed.
"Good idea," Jess said. "Test it out."
Jacob hopped up on the 2x4 and ran across it, Cammie trotting along beside him. He jumped off the end and alternated with one foot back and forth between the hula hoops, then dropped to the ground to crawl through the hoop Kaitlyn held upright. Cammie followed him through the hoop and they laughed.
"We might have do an obstacle course for Cammie next," Dylan said.
Hearing her name, Cammie let out a soft woof as if in agreement.
Jacob ran over the pool noodles on the ground, lifting his knees a little higher than necessary, then crawled through the three noodle arches, Cammie right behind.
"Well?" Catherine asked, smiling expectantly at Jacob as he jumped up.
"It's good!" he pronounced, pumping a fist. Cammie circled beside him excitedly. Jacob pointed back to the hoops. "I had to crawl through the hula hoop 'cause I'm bigger, but Angie can walk through it."
"She definitely can," Steve said.
"Next I think we should put the wooden blocks," Dylan said. "They'll be like stepping stones." He and Cody gathered up the wood pieces they'd cut from another 2x4 with Steve's tools and sanded down so they were nice and smooth. "Put 'em close together," he told his brother. "Angie's legs aren't very long."
Cody smiled, proud of Dylan's unprompted observation. "Got it."
"Then the tub," Jacob said, picking up a shallow plastic tub and putting it face down for Angie to crawl over. Cammie stood beside him as if supervising the placement.
"Then how 'bout the boxes?" Kaitlyn suggested. She and Jess carried two large empty cardboard boxes to the other side of the tub and set them down to use as tunnels for Angie to crawl through.
"Let's leave a little space between them," Jess said as she situated her box a couple feet away from Kaitlyn's.
"Yeah. If it's too long it'll be dark in there and Angie might get a little scared inside," Kaitlyn agreed.
"Then the balls!" Jacob said, grabbing a large bucket. Cammie gave an excited chuff at one of her favorite words. "Come on, Cammie!" He ran over to the other side of the boxes, Cammie following right behind. "We'll put a bunch of balls around the bucket and Angie can pick them up and put them inside."
"Maybe just a couple balls," Jenna suggested. "Remember, she's only one."
"But she's really smart," Jacob said, setting the balls at different distances from the bucket. Cammie picked one up and brought it to him. He laughed and threw it down toward the beach for her to fetch. "Go get it, Cammie!" he yelled, but she had already taken off toward the ball. She ran back, the ball in her mouth and dropped it at Jacob's feet, ready for another throw, but before he could, she alerted, looking toward the side of the house.
"I'm here!" Casey called as she came around the foliage. Cammie ran over to greet her. "Hey, Cammie."
"How was work, honey?" Jenna asked.
"Good." She looked around the backyard. "Wow. This looks awesome."
"Did you get the crepe paper for the finish line?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Got it," Casey said, holding up the red roll.
"Hey! I got an idea!" Jacob said. "Let's put the pillows on the other side of the finish line so Angie can run through it and jump right into the pillows."
Catherine laughed. "I love it, and I bet Angie will, too."
Dylan put two thin plastic poles in the ground several feet apart while Casey and Kaitlyn secured a length of crepe paper between them around the height of Angie's midsection. Cody, Jess, Catherine, Steve, and Jenna carried over the outdoor pillows they'd collected that were usually found on the chaise lounges on the deck or the outdoor chairs at the Allens' house. They stacked them on the other side of the finish line so Angie could jump onto the pile.
"I think you definitely better test that," Steve said with a wink at Jacob who beamed excitedly.
"But do it from the other side so we don't have to tape another piece of crepe paper," Kaitlyn said.
Not needing to be asked twice, Jacob took a running start and leaped onto the pile of pillows, laughing as landed. "That is so fun!" He grinned up at them. "Try it, Kaitlyn!" He rolled off the pile and pushed the pillows back into place.
Kaitlyn jumped onto the pile and laughed. "That is fun," she said.
Cammie circled the pile, sniffing one of the pillows.
"Well, I think this is an awesome obstacle course," Catherine said, looking over their creation.
Jacob grinned. "Now all we need is Angie."
After Angie woke up and had a little snack, they brought her outside to see if she'd try the obstacle course.
Angie's eyes widened at the unfamiliar sight and she squirmed to get out of Catherine's arms to go explore.
"Mama! Beh kah!" She pointed insistently and Catherine stepped down off the deck onto the grass. "Meh meh!"
"It's an obstacle course for you, Angie!" Jacob said, bouncing excitedly in place beside Catherine.
"Do you want to try it out, honey?" Catherine asked. "The kids worked really hard making it for you."
"You should show her how to do it, Jake," Cody suggested.
"Watch, Angie!" Jacob said, jumping up on the beam. "You run across here, and then you put one foot in the hoops like this. One, two, three, four," he counted. "Then you go under this hoop," he said, going under the hula hoop that Kaitlyn help upright for him. Angie watched entranced as Jacob made his way through the obstacle course, Cammie going right alongside him. "Then you go over these noodles," he continued. "And under these ones. Then you gotta step on the blocks like this and go over the tub." He dropped down to all fours, crawling through the cardboard boxes. "Through the boxes!" he called from inside. Cammie watched him go in one side, then she ran around to the other side of the box to watch him come out. He clamored up and ran over to the bucket. "Then you put all the balls in the bucket." He scrambled around grabbing balls and slam dunking them in the bucket, laughing as Cammie grabbed one before he could. "Then you run to the finish line and jump onto the pillows!" He broke the crepe paper finish line on his leg as he jumped into the pile.
"Yay!" Kaitlyn started the cheering, with the others joining in.
Angie clapped excitedly. "Ay!"
"What do you think, baby girl?" Catherine asked. "Want to give it a try?"
"Ah me!" Angie cried, bouncing against Catherine's side.
As Jenna, Cody, Casey, Jess, and Jacob straightened out the pile of pillows, emptied the bucket of balls, and got a new piece of crepe paper set up as the finish line, Steve took Angie from Catherine and set her on one end of the wooden beam. Holding her hand, he encouraged her across.
"Come on, Angie," he said. "One foot in front of the other."
Cammie came over to watch, standing in front of Steve and backing up as they made slow progress.
"Mama," Angie said, holding her other hand up. Catherine took her hand and they helped her make her way across the beam.
"Yay, you did it!" Kaitlyn cheered, shaking the hula hoop in her hands and making the beads inside rattle.
Angie clapped after stepping onto the grass and letting go of her parents' hands.
"Now step inside the hoop," Catherine said, squatting down and touching one of the hula hoops. She held out a hand to offer support. Angie grabbed it and shuffled closer to the hoop. Her foot knocked into it and she bent down, still holding Catherine's hand, to try and pick it up. It slipped out of her grip, but the beads inside rattled and Angie smiled.
"Step in, Angie," Steve said, taking her other hand.
"You can do it, Angie!" Jacob said, running over.
She grinned up at him then concentrated, slowly maneuvering one foot over the hoop and then the other, holding on to Steve and Catherine's hands.
"Yay!" Kaitlyn cheered again.
Angie let go of her parents hands so she could clap and overbalanced, catching herself on the ground. Eyeing the hula hoop in Kaitlyn's hands she crawled toward it, going over the others on the ground.
"Well, that's one way to clear an obstacle," Steve said, chuckling.
As Angie reached for the hoop, Steve lifted her and righted her on her feet.
"Go through it, Angie," Katilyn said, giving the hoop a little shake.
"Come on, honey," Catherine said, moving to the other side of the hoop and holding out her hands in encouragement.
Angie grinned and walked toward her mother, tripping over the hoop but pushing herself back up and making it to Catherine.
"Now the noodles," Dylan said.
"I got an idea," Steve said. He took one of Angie's hands and Catherine held the other. Together they lifted her over each noodle and set her down in between.
"Woo!" Catherine said each time the lifted her into the air.
Angie laughed, kicking her feet each time she went airborne.
"Now you crawl through these noodles," Jacob said. "Like this." He got down on his hands and knees and crawled through.
Angie clapped and pointed at the noodle arch. She caught sight of Cody. "Co-ee!" She pointed more insistently at the arch. "Co-ee!"
"You want me to go?" he asked.
"Co-ee go!" she said.
Jess chuckling, nudging him toward the noodles. "Cody, go!" she teased.
"Yeah, Cody!" Jacob said, laughing.
Smiling, Cody dropped to the ground and crawled through the noodle arches, having to twist a bit to avoid knocking them off their stakes. Once he was through, Angie quickly followed. When Cammie crawled through after her, she squealed happily.
"Caa ee!" she cried, putting a hand on the dog's fur. She used Cammie to pull herself up and looked around as if to ask what was next.
"Over here," Steve said, standing by the wooden blocks. Angie walked with Cammie over to him. She raised her arms as if to be picked up, but Steve took both her hands in his instead. "Come on, you can do it."
He helped her step on each block, her movements a little unsteady. She tilted her head back to look up at him and grinned.
"Dada!"
"I see you, baby girl, you're doing great on this obstacle course. Just like your mommy."
Angie looked around and spotted Catherine, smiling immediately at the site. "Mama!
"Keep going, honey!" Catherine said.
"Now you can crawl over the tub," Kaitlyn said, crouching by the plastic tub and waving Angie over.
Steve let go of Angie's hands so she could make her own way there. She dropped both hands to the tub and gave it a couple good smacks, liking the sound of her hand hitting the plastic. She plopped down beside it and got her hands underneath, flipping it over. Grinning proudly, she clapped, then crawled into the tub.
"Ah bah! Meh bah!" she said, looking around happily.
"All right, silly girl," Catherine said, shaking her head in amusement. "You're almost there. Come on. Let's see if you can crawl through these boxes."
Angie crawled out of tub, pushing it away with her feet. She pushed herself up and walked over to the first cardboard box, grabbing and edge with one hand and trying to pull it.
"You gotta go through!" Jacob said. He ran to the other side of the box and peeked in. "Come on!"
Angie started to step into the box but then dropped down and crawled through instead.
Steve grinned. "She realized she was too tall," he said. Beside him, Jenna nodded, smiling at the pride in his voice.
"Bah buh!" Angie said as she made it through both cardboard boxes. "Bah!" she cried excitedly as she spotted the colorful balls by the bucket.
"Put 'em in the bucket," Kaitlyn said, pointing. She ran over and squatted by the bucket, tapping the rim with her hand. "Right here."
Angie picked up a ball and walked over to her. She held the ball out to Kaitlyn. "Bah!"
"Put it in here," Kaitlyn said, motioning to the inside of the bucket.
Angie dropped it inside.
"Yay! Good job!"
Angie beamed and clapped.
"Okay, get another one, honey," Catherine said. "Can you find another ball?"
But Angie had spotted the red crepe paper finish line and the pile of pillows. She ran unsteadily toward it but stopped shy of crashing through. Reaching forward hesitantly, she touched crepe paper, feeling its unique texture.
"Run through it, Angie!" Jacob said. "That's the finish line!"
Angie looked at him, then back at the red paper. She dropped to the ground and crawled underneath instead.
Steve laughed. "That works, too."
Angie crawled onto the pile of pillows, giggling at how she slid from one to the other. She smacked one with her hand. "Ah mah!"
"You did it, Angie!" Jacob cheered, jumping up and down. "You did the whole obstacle course!"
She cried out, hitting the pillow pile with both hands. "Ay!"
Casey grinned. "Probably good we weren't timing that round."
"She stayed really focused for the most part," Jenna said. "That's amazing."
"This course is amazing," Steve said. "You guys did a great job putting it together."
"I think she really liked it," Dylan said.
"She definitely did," Catherine agreed as they looked at Angie who was exploring her mountain of pillows. She grinned. "And I think she's made it clear what her favorite part is."
"She tried everything," Kaitlyn said. "She didn't let any obstacle stand in her way."
"That's our girl," Steve said proudly.
Jacob beamed. "Now I only have one question …" he began. When everyone looked at him curiously, he continued with a broad smile. "When can we make another one?"
Hope you enjoyed!
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