Play-Learn-Grow-Repeat

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
Yesterday, Tate and I babysat my friend’s son, Cade.  It was a last minute request, and we were excited to have the opportunity to play with him.  He is almost five months old and rolling around all over the place.  He was full of smiles and non stop giggling when Tate would make silly faces at him. He did shed a few tears, but quickly turned his frown upside down.  The interaction between both Tate and Cade was too cute.

Tate was a wonderful helper while we played with Cade.  He helped change a diaper, put on a new bib, played peek-a-boo and sang the Alphabet song to Cade.  Tate asked several questions.  For example, “Mommy, why is he crying?”, “Mommy, why can’t he run and play?” and “Can I share a cracker?”  All things a two year old would wonder I guess, but I simply told Tate that he is just a baby and still learning how to do everything you can already do.  I also explained how it takes lots of practice to master things like running and climbing.

This was a perfect opportunity to teach Tate how it takes practice to master things like dressing yourself, using the potty and writing/drawing.  These are things Tate is working on so I tried to relate Tate’s questions to something specific to his level of learning at the moment.  Tate shook his head and at least half understood what I meant.

It was a great experience for both of us.  I was able to get my baby fix and Tate was exposed to how babies are very dependant and in return learn new things by watching “big” people like us.  We had a fun morning and look forward to babysitting again.

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
Jack’s class went to see Little Red Riding Hood at our local community theater.  Jack had never seen a professional play until today.  Our community youth actors/actresses performed a great musical, including several of Jack’s friends who had small parts in the production. Jack came home from the show and was so excited to tell me all about it.  He tried to recite just about every line from the production. Apparently, everything the Wolf said was absolutely hysterical.  He was laughing so hard on the ride home that he could barely get out what he wanted to say.  He wants to go back and see it again with our family.

I think Jack was lucky to see an actual live play. Especially one geared for kids. I asked Jack what he learned from the musical.  His reply was “Don’t get near a wolf, they’re scary and really funny.”  I would say that pretty much sums up the gist of the tale.

After reciting a small line in his Christmas program and seeing the children perform on stage today, Jack announced he wants to “play on the stage.”  He wants to be the Big Bad Wolf.  I told him he could perform anytime he wants to at home, and maybe one day he’ll have a role in a movie.  From experience, I am certain he can act out many personalities.  We’ll see what the future holds in the acting industry.

From Friday Mom – Jaime:
We want to do lots of stuff with Andrew. Take him to Yankee games. Take him to the circus. Bring him to different restaurants.

But the nagging question is always in the back of our minds: How’s he going to do with this?

We know that if we bring Andrew to dinner at Chili’s and he melts down, the place is loud enough and there are enough families there that no one is going to care. Similarly, if we bring him to open bounce time at Pump It Up (the place with all the cool inflatables) and he freaks out when it’s time to leave, so do all the other kids.

One of the young lawyer groups that I’m a part of decided to have “family fun night” at the Devil’s game on Friday. I’m the one who really encouraged these family-friendly activities, so I felt compelled to go – with or without the rest of the family. But I called Hubby and asked if he wanted to take a chance on bringing Andrew to the game. He said let’s do it.

So we did…

He apparently spent all day on Friday at school telling EVERYONE he was going to the hockey game after school. He also pouted over the fact that he couldn’t play on the ice, but that the players needed to be careful so they didn’t fall and get bad boo-boos, which would require a doctor. (I bit my tongue and refrained by telling him that the hard checks and fights were a major part of the entertainment that is hockey)

We got to the Prudential Center as the game was starting and eventually managed to find the will call window. (They really need better signage for that) We made our way to the seats which somehow were the only ones separated from the rest of the young lawyer’s group. But we got Andrew settled and hoped for the best.

He LOVED it! He was totally into the game. He was asking questions about what was going on. He couldn’t quite understand the whole intermission thing. Andrew kept asking “Mommy, where’d all the hockeys go? Why they not playing?”

He was into the music, especially “Enter Sandman,” which means he’s already primed to be a great Yankee and Rivera fan. The noise didn’t bother him (too much). And when he decided it was time for bed (2 minutes into overtime), he asked if we could go home. That was followed quickly by “Mommy? Daddy? Maybe we can do this again?”

Andrew fell asleep still talking about how the Devils were the winners and how they beat the Penguins 2-1. He asked if I was upset the Penguins lost because he knows how much I like them (the animal, not the team).

We had a great night out. I didn’t even care I was separated from all my friends because I had an amazing night with my family. Andrew must have thought it was pretty cool too because as soon as his eyes popped open the next morning, the first thing he said was “CAN WE GO TO A HOCKEY GAME TODAY?”

This weekend we’re going to try another new thing…the circus.

Have a great weekend everyone!