As some of you may know, my wife and I recently welcomed a beautiful and happy baby girl named Sophie into our lives.
She sure is a bundle of joy, and she’s growing up so fast. It feels like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital, but in fact she turned six weeks on Monday. Where does the time go?
Before we know it, she’s going to be running around, getting into all kinds of mischief and likely making life a little more difficult for our two cats. Those poor tails are never going to be the same again.
So to prepare for our future life, I reconnected with my friends at the Tot Spot last week for a little crash course in all things toddler. When I first went to the Spot last winter, I hate to toot my own horn, but the kids loved me. Maybe it’s because we speak the same language of snacks, naps and play time, but nevertheless it was as if I had known many of them for years – which would actually be their entire lives.
And last week’s reunion was no different. The Mayor of the Tot Spot, Colton, is still living large, although there were no signs of his sweet dino slippers during this visit. His friends from last time, Trip and Thomas, have been replaced with the likes of Tyler, Phineas and Lucca. But it didn’t take long for my presence to draw a big crowd.
It was early morning play time and the connector blocks were a nice bonding tool. That’s where I also met Xander and Krishna. You should have seen the towers we built. There may be a few future architects in that building, but let’s wait and see what they can do with Legos first.
After a quick clean-up, snack time was next on the agenda – along with my first lesson. Fruit, yogurt and crackers seemed to be the choice of most parents. I guess cookies, brownies and pie are not considered good choices? Just kidding, those are what I should pack for future lunches, right?
I had the distinct pleasure of helping a nice young girl by the name of Hailey. It was quite easy, since her banana was already cut up, so all I had to do was take the top off of her tupperware container. This snack thing isn’t all that hard after all. And by being in parent mode, I was able to detect a sippy cup malfunction at the next table and remedy the situation before it got way out of control.
Before taking our trip to the playground, it was time to zip up the old jackets and change a few shoes. Not to brag, but I was pretty good at the old shoe swap. I must have switched out five or six pairs, thanks in large part to the fact most were secured with zippers or Velcro.
And, full disclosure, I didn’t change a single diaper. I get plenty of that at home, so no need for extra practice.
The playground is filled with slides and cars, some you can ride on and others to just push around, as well as little houses and inflated balls. But all they really wanted to do was chase me around, which worked unless one got close enough to grab my legs, because then I’d have four of them with arms wrapped around my jeans – and it’s not easy getting them all to let go at the same time.
There were a few races around the wood-chip covered yard, which wasn’t easy when I was given the littlest car of the bunch, as well as a brief talk with one nice little girl about where the leaf she found on the ground came from. And we can’t forget about the helicopter that flew over, because that was definitely the highlight of play time – well, after you take me out of the equation, of course.
I don’t know about the kids, but I certainly was tired after our outdoor fun. Although I learned real quick that being tired is just a part of being a parent, and now I know to be prepared for it to never really end.
My final activity (because unfortunately I had to go to work) was circle time, much to the disappointment of my new (and old) friends. I was included in the song to introduce all of the kids who were there that day – which made me feel quite special after an incident where I took my shoes off and caused Hailey to cry. I didn’t think they smelled bad. We talked about the weather and enjoyed a nice story, but this wasn’t supposed to be all fun and games. I was there to learn, so what better way than to read a few stories. Three to be exact.
We tracked a group of swimmers in Ten Little Fish and searched everywhere for one of Halloween’s most recognizable features in Where is Baby’s Pumpkin? FYI, we found it.
Our last journey had us trudging through a river, tall grass and a snow storm in We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. And we found the bear, but I’m not going to tell you what happened next. Read the book yourself.
Now I know it’s going to be a while before Sophie is a toddler, but the tricks I picked up last week sure are going to come in handy. The key to a happy kid is food, play and stories. All things that I have proven to be quite good at handling. Really the only other thing I can think of is nap time, but that’s easy from what I’ve heard.
