Kids Fest!

Way back at the beginning of March, Derek and I took Bella to Kids Fest in Des Moines, which was held at the fairgrounds. There were lots of games and activities for kids to do, so we thought she would have a good time. However, our main reason for going was that a REAL Dora the Explorer was going to be present! And for our Dora obsessed girl, we knew that would be perfect.

The first thing Bella spied was the big inflatable slide. She was a little nervous when we actually got up there, but she faced her fear and had lots of fun. :)

"Hula-hooping," or something to that effect.
There was a separate area for kids under 3, which was nice because Bella could actually go in one of the bounce houses and not get thrown around by the older kids. And she LOVED it in here! I think she made several trips inside.
We also discovered that Bella is quite the little baller, much to Daddy's delight. :) Her tiny little body is able to reach up quite high!
Bella had lots of fun kicking the balloons around as well! However, she took off behind the curtain at one point during this, which caused a momentary freak-out for Mommy.
Waiting in line for the big event with Mommy! We weren't sure if Bella would be initially scared of the "big" Dora since she has never really liked big characters in the past.
However, we quickly learned that was not the case! This is the first thing Bella did, where she stayed for quite some time. It was just about the cutest thing ever to watch her sit there and hug Dora.
We did get her to turn around to look for a picture!
We also saw a real princess. However, after seeing Dora, Bella was obviously none too impressed. :)
She got her first little balloon animal- a lion! I believe at this particular time she was obsessed with watching a lion episode on Dora, so she enjoyed having a lion of her own.
Going down the slide with Daddy.
Bella's love of animals apparently extends to all animals, both furry and scaly! Yes, Bella actually touched a snake, something that her mommy would never even do. She didn't want to at first, so we left, but then she worked up enough and wanted to go back to touch it.
Riding on a train with Mommy.
And before we left, we had to make one last stop with Dora. :) They gave each other some nice hugs again.
And she got to sit on her lap! Almost two months later, Bella still talks about going to see Big Dora. "Big Dora! Hugs? Kisses? Sit on her lap!" is the usual phrases associated with it. So if a real Dora ever comes back around, you can bet that we will be making a trip there! We are going to see Sesame Street Live in May, so hopefully even though Bella's love of Elmo has decreased, she will still have fun seeing big characters again.