March 6, 2012
INCOMPLETE POST -- TO BE COMPLETED SOON!
Sweet P and I truly went all around town today! To start our day off, in between our morning nursing and breakfast, we threw some clothes on and headed over to the high school near our house, which is our local polling center. It was the presidential primaries and some local general elections. I wasn’t sure if I could even bring a baby to the polling center, but after posting this on Facebook, I was assured that this was standard practice! I assumed I could, but I honestly don’t remember ever seeing kids there in the past when I’ve voted. I knew it would be a small crowd, and in fact, we were the only ones there at the time. I put Sweet P in the stroller, just because I knew I would need my hands free getting out my I.D., filling out forms and signing in, and of course, voting! Everyone was, of course, enamored by her, and she was thrilled to get a sticker saying “I Voted.” Since she wouldn’t stop playing with it, I stuck my own sticker on her for a brief photo op before we hopped back in the car!
Following our morning nap, we set off for our planned adventure of the day, that I know you have been waiting to hear about. STORY TIME at the library! If you recall, I mentioned that they offer story time at 930, 1030, and 1130. Sweet P woke up a little before 1030 and I think if I have my act together next time, we might attempt to make that show, but we had things to do and it was our first time, so we opted for the 1130 show. I had packed her sippy cup of milk, some snacks, and lunch. In my head I thought it would be nice if her milk got her through the show, then I thought we might meet her papa for lunch, but it didn’t all play out that way. Here is what happened.
Hubby gave me his work parking pass since he rode the bus in that day. His garage is 3 blocks over in one direction, and then maybe another 3 or 4 in the other direction. Not a bad walk, although I think, if my memory serves me, you can park in the library garage for free if you get your pass validated in the library. I forgot to confirm this yesterday but will look it up online on our next visit. The walk is nice and if we do meet up with Sweet P’s papa, then parking in his garage is more convenient. If the weather is bad, or we know we aren’t meeting him, it probably just makes sense to park at the library, assuming it is free like I think it is. So, we parked, we walked, and it was nice out. I felt a little rushed and I was also wearing a lightweight jacket and lugging our diaper bag, so I was a little hot by the time we got to the library. Turns out we had plenty of time and I didn’t have to rush. We saw a lot of parents and kiddos leaving the 1030 show and easily found our way upstairs to the children’s floor of the library (the 2nd floor). The library is beautiful, but more on that later! We made our way back to the children’s theater area. They ask you leave your strollers out front, so we parked, took in our gear, and got settled in a nice spot toward the front but also toward the side in case we needed to walk out. The room quickly filled with fellow moms and kids, and even one dad! They started a little late – I didn’t notice the time but at least 10 minutes late. I am not sure if that is typical or not. It’s one of the things that made me think we could have gotten to the 1030 show if we had really hustled, but who knows?!
When they finally got going, the reaction of the kids was priceless! The two people who put it on have developed these wonderful characters that it was obvious have endeared themselves to the “regular” crowd of kids and parents. The Professor welcomed everyone, and interacted with the crowd. He encouraged the kids to have a library card. Then JJ, a sheep puppet, came out and they talked and entertained folks. I nearly cried at Sweet P’s reaction to JJ popping out of the puppet theater. She gasped and pointed and was SO excited! It was truly precious. They sang a name game and the Professor read Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? with crowd interaction. It was fun to have them read a book that Sweet P knows. I was also impressed how they discussed the authors and illustrators. JJ went away after a game of peek-a-boo and Mary Mary came out to take the stage. She read a book called Stars by Mary Lyn Ray and Marla Frazee. It was so sweet and we will definitely have to check this book out if there’s not already a run on it! But then Mary Mary had the kids talk and sing about their favorite colors and we made a rainbow. Sweet P wanted to be up and moving and loved dancing to the music. The rest of the program continued with various puppets entertaining. Cedric the Dragon helped with the Stars book, then Spanish Fox came out and taught “star” in Spanish. There was a puppet called Yip, and I don’t even know who else! It all wrapped up with the Professor and Mary Mary leading everyone in singing “What a Wonderful World,” another song Sweet P knows well, and they even included a little bit of sign language in the song. So fun!
The crowd had a wide age range. Sweet P was one of the younger audience members, but certainly not the youngest. I was a little stressed at the idea of having to keep her sitting and interested the whole time. The library states no food or drink, and there wasn’t any signage at the children’s theater about it. It was her lunch time, so I finally got her out her milk, but that wasn’t enough! She started to get ancy, and I
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