How to Assemble an Exersaucer (Alternatively Titled: I am an Idiot.)

When Charlotte was an infant, we assembled her ExerSaucer Triple Fun Jungle when she was between 4-5 months. With Charlotte being our first child, it was always so fun seeing when she'd be ready for the next piece of gear. Sorta weird, I guess.

I remember it being a huge pain in the ass. Like with all the baby stuff, I would think "how hard can this be? idiots have babies all the time." Every piece of equipment was a giant pain to assemble. Apparently they want it to be "sturdy" and "safe". So roughly 2 years ago, I put the piece of junk together, and I'm fairly certain it took over an hour. I may as well have molded the plastic in the factory with all the other steps I needed to take to build it.

Charlotte played in it for months. It was great having a place to put her away from a hyper dog (she was younger and more rambunctious) and then once she was walking, I could take it apart and it could be yet another toy.

So certainly taking it apart should be easier than assembling it, I assumed. I assumed wrong. After her first birthday, I went to pull it apart and began yanking and tugging every which way, but there was an actual way to do it, and I had to look online to figure it out. And of course, when parts and pieces didn't stay attached, I was all "I'll remember where I put that when we have another kid someday." HAHAHAHA
idiot.

Now that Lena is the same age as Charlotte was when we first set it up, I thought we'd give it a try. Honestly, I didn't even think of it until recently and figured she was still way too small and we'd wait a few months. But she basically lays on the floor or sits in our laps, and I can tell she really wants to sit up on her own. The top portion was still assembled and looked like this:

So all I needed to do was pull it apart at the middle and jam it back on the base. That's all. 

WRONG AGAIN.

I had to take the whole damn thing apart down to bare bones. But I only learned that after each and every step was half assed. I don't know why I don't learn.

Here we are after FORTY FIVE minutes of sweating. 

Each step required me to undo it and do it again a different way. I am so stupid. But finally. After over an hour, I was able to get the thing figured it out. 

And guess who loved it?!

THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!

The only problem is now we have another giant piece of gear in my family room that is not easily hidden. But I guess that's what a house looks like when you have kids.

I will defeat that butterfly.

I really hope I have it assembled correctly, but I wouldn't be surprised if it buckles under the weight of my 12  pound baby.

Do you need instructions when assembling an item or are you a gifted individual unlike myself?