My husband and I are both really competitive. In fact, board games are practically outlawed at our house. So when I saw the San Diego County Fair was having a Baby Derby I knew we had to enter our first-born daughter.
Sure, she wasn’t exactly front-runner material for a crawling competition. She was a brand new crawler, and a tiny, but fierce preemie. Also the competition was being held right in the middle of her naptime. With all the odds stacked against us, ~ahem~ I mean her, we decided to go for it. We figured the worst that could happen is she would have a complete meltdown and we would have a funny story to share with all her future boyfriends.
One of the craziest (and hardest) parts of being a parent is the fact that children are completely unpredictable. We arrived at the fair that day with absolutely no idea of how the day might go. After exploring the fair and grabbing a quick lunch, we headed to the stage to register for the competition. Eight other babies had registered for the Baby Derby, so our daughter was placed in the second heat. The winners from each heat would duke it out in the finals.
A local radio station was sponsoring the event and they did such a fabulous job making the entire event unforgettable. They took the time to “interview” each contestant and ask, through parent translators, about each baby’s training regimen.
Finally, it was time for the first heat. The rules were simple. The first baby to completely cross the finish line would be the winner. If a parent moved them or if they stood up then they were disqualified. The first heat was over before you could blink an eye. There were some fast crawlers!
It was time for our daughter’s heat. My husband took her to the starting line and I headed to the finish line with my shiny keys and her beloved pacifier. I couldn’t believe my eyes when they blew the horn and my daughter actually started moving in the right direction. In fact, she was the only baby moving in the right direction. The three other babies in her heat, despite the shaking of toys and calls from mommy, were just sitting there. She ended up winning her heat without much competition and we were headed to the finals.
The other baby in the finals was an adorable little girl who seemed to crawl at lightning speed. Her mom and I took our places at the finish line with our bribery in hand. The horn blew and once again our daughter started making her way towards me. Slowly and steadily she crawled across the mat taking in every sight and getting distracted every few feet. Much to our surprise, her competitor hadn’t moved an inch. Her mom shook that little bag of cheerios with all her might and coaxed her daughter towards her, but she was frozen to her dad’s side. I knew that with the other baby’s speed and the slow pace my daughter was keeping, it wouldn’t be over until the very last moment. Finally my baby reached the finished line and then she proceeded to just sit there, straddling the line. We knew that she had to fully cross the line in order to win, but she just sat there. After a little more coaxing, she dragged that last foot across and the horn blew.
I know my daughter had no idea what was happening that day and I know we would have had just as much fun if she decided to sit there all day. There are many times that being a parent is so tough and finding anything to celebrate is totally worth it!
If you have a baby that crawls, I hope you will head to the fair this year and check out the Baby Derby! May the most consistent crawler win!
San Diego Fair Baby Derby 2016:
1:30 PM; June 11
2:00PM, June 24
San Diego Showcase Stage
2:00PM, July 2
Albertsons Funville Stage
That is so fun!!! And so something I would do. Makes me want to have another baby just to put them in this derby!!! (Don’t tell Jenna!!!) Lol!
Haha I love it! Just make sure you plan your pregnancy accordingly 😉 My youngest daughter was only two months old last year and this year she’s walking already! Darn!