...and he's down

One of the many perks of a tourist destination is the incredible people watching that goes on. There are characters galore. The trophy wives with their fake boobs, the old couples still in love, the old couples who bicker, the newlyweds, the kids loathing the family time, the families who seem so dysfunctional you wonder how they ever rallied together to make somewhere together...the list goes on and on. I was in Hawaii and saw evidence of all of the above and even befriended a few of them at happy hour. The people watching there is fantastic, mostly because you can also judge their bathing suit choices and how badly they will be burned when they wake up from their nap. One demographic that you may notice I have failed to mention is young children and babies. Sigh.
If you know me, you know children are not my preferred demographic. I don't make faces at them. I don't think when they're loud that it's a cute way to express themselves. I have no desire to be the one responsible for that kid who, in .5 seconds, went from being fine to needing a nap and throwing a tantrum instead of just nodding off. That being said, there is a small window during which I find toddlers adorable. Somewhere between a kid learning to walk and being fully mobile you find what I have termed 'stumbling children.'
They can walk on their own but don't have a firm grasp of gravity, momentum and depth perception. Which is to say, they are like drunk people, except they can't talk and you don't have to wait til 2am to see them wandering around. It's just so fun for me to watch them charging ahead typically ignoring obstacles in front of them (like people, or poles) looking like the momentum of their upper body could at any moment overtake how fast their little legs can move causing them to tumble. Fortunately, they are so short that taking a tumble is harmless and they just sit their confused as to why what they were doing didn't work. They are just fearless little explorers and I love them. Until they start crying or need a diaper change.