Toddler Tuesdays

This morning started off earlier than usual due to the fact that the munchkin didn't nap yesterday for more than 15 minutes because Daddy was home and when Daddy is home she constantly wants to know what he's up to.

So bedtime came 45 minutes earlier than usual and she was out like a light in five minutes.

I fixed my daughter her usual breakfast ("Fast! Fast! Fast!" as she says when she wakes up...), and then we got cleaned up to take my husband to work after a short walk outside in the morning sunshine.

AND! I saw the dog I'm sure that did the lawn dookie in front of my house...he was off leash and running amuck this morning, not to mention definately OVER the 40 pound weight limit rule set here by Management. Anyways...

After we took my husband to work, we stopped by the yummiest bagel place in the area and for the first time in a long time, I actually sat in the cafe there and enjoyed people watching. My daughter was being her typical cheery I-Love-The-World self and doing her best to get eye contact with everyone she could so she could flash her pearly whites at them.

We shared a toasted, plain bagel with fresh, whipped cream cheese and a soda. Of course she stole the hearts of a couple of elderly women who had met up for a good gossip session, coffee, and morning pastry. They also cast a glance of sympathy for me while I carried my daughter on the side of my big pregnant belly, carried my purse, carried the plate with the bagel on it, carried extra napkins, and the highchair. Whew though! We made it to the table without any mishaps.

It was warm in the cafe with the smell of hot coffee, freshly brewed, and baking bread. Mmm. It was fun, even if the only real conversation I held was with my daughter as we exchanged, "MMmm!"s back and forth while we snacked.

Then it was a mission for new shoes, 1/2 a size larger. My daughter is still wearing her go-fasters that she has just fine, but I figured it would just be easier to have the next size up for when they become to small. We first went to Target, but their selection just didn't thrill me, however, I found a couple very cute outfits for my precious munchkin. I also picked up some new bath toys, including a little hose shower spout that hooks on to the tub spout - will make it easier for me to wash my little one's hair - and will make it easier on Grandma when she comes to visit too. Picked up some super gentle baby wash. And. And. And Target is just too easy of a place to find stuff to spend your money at!

But! We didn't leave with shoes, and that's why we went there in the first place. So off we went to Payless Shoe Source. That's a great place to pick up kid shoes. I refuse to spend a fortune on shoes that only last a short while...it's just silly. So we did find some very cute go-fasters that were $9.99. Perfect!

Now we had just.enough.time to get our tooshs over to the book store for Toddler Tuesday!

There were thirteen children in attendance. My little one was so excited and I did give her freedom out of her stroller. I was a little nervous about that at first, because obviously in a store full of beautiful new books, she could cause some serious damage not to mention really rack up a hefty bill for Mommy. But she was great and suprised the socks off me. She minded me really well and all I had to do was remind her that we were there to 'look' not to 'touch'. Then it was read-aloud time. One of the store employees plopped herself up on the neatly decorated kid's stage while all the kids sat themselves down on the benches and floor surrounding the stage. My little one was a bit unsure about sitting and listening at first. It was her first experience with such an event. I sat her down in the second row of seats, and sat myself down on the carpet to the side of the first row bench and the second row bench. Naturally, she didn't want to stay on the bench and she waddled her way over to me and sat next to me on the carpet.

Through half listening and half taking in the scenery of the store, she realized there was just enough space next to another child on the first row bench. Up she went and squished herself on the edge of the bench. Luckily the other child skooted over a bit and wasn't bothered at all by my daughter's friendly nature. And there my daughter sat and listened to the stories being read - and then she'd come back to my lap for a few minutes, and then back to the bench, and then back to my lap, bench, lap, bench...

After the second story, it was snack time. The woman handed out a cookie and apple juice to each child and then continued reading two more stories. After that, it was Coloring Time. There was a nice, wooden, round table with crayons with paper for coloring and then the children were also given permission to sit up on the stage to color if they preferred.

This was great! She socialized with so many of the kids. We started out at the coloring table, and then she moved on to chit-chat and color with a different group of kids with their Moms, and after that she moved on to yet another group of kids and their parents...

By the time we reached the third group and spent a little bit of time coloring there, the Toddler Tuesday time was over and all the crayons needed to be collected. My little munchkin followed the woman all over to try to hand in her crayons and the woman kept on cruising further and further away in a circle. It was really pretty comical, and my daugther was getting somewhat frustrated, but she did track the woman down and turned in her crayons.

I told her it was time to go and back into the stroller we went and she waved bye to everyone and said, "Bye!!"

What a great outting - and they do it every Tuesday for free.