Cole and I went for our first playdate this morning. We drove an hour to Fitzwilliam, NH where my sister nannies (is that the way you spell that. . .or is it nanny's?) for three adorable children. Zach is 4, Ike is 2 and Tori (short for Victoria) is 10 months old. And I swear, if Cole wasn't absolutely exhausted from his day he'd probably still be talking about it!
I've been worried lately (after our last run-in with the Baby Storytime folks at the Library) about Cole getting along with other kids. He just doesn't really have that much contact with other kids his age and gets so excited when he sees them. . .that it's close to assault.
Some folks (sorry if you are one of them. . .) bring their baby to daycare one day a week or for a few hours a few days. . .to give them exposure to other children. But I'm not independently wealthy and can't justify paying someone to watch Cole while I'm at home anyway. . .so we need to find another way.
He's got this thing too. . .that's a little tough. . .when he wants to show affection for another kid. . .he lovingly head butts them until they've had enough and they leave. I suppose only a mother can find it cute. Trust me. . .the mother of the other child that has a welt on their forehead from Cole's "love" doesn't always find it so cute.
So needless to say I was pretty worried about today. I figured these kids were somewhat strangers and we'd never have to see them again if our playdate went horribly wrong. The other thing I knew prior to going into this playdate was that their parents are both retired college basketball stars. . .so these kids are already taller, bigger, tougher than Cole from the start. They could certainly handle his head butts. . .
Cole was having such a great time that he actually forgot to sleep today. When we weren't there playing. . .he was telling me (or anyone who would listen. . .) about his day. He started running after watching the 2 year old run! He used 'words' when he hadn't before. He ate chicken nuggets! (But he taught those kids how to eat peas. . .) Who would have thought. . .?
They played with toy tractors. They played with a toy kitchen. They played Memory. They played with ride on firetrucks and cop cars. . .they played with barnyard animals. . .there were tunnels to crawl through and blocks to stack high. There was even a 10 minute milk break while we watched Caillou.*
* Caillou, for those of you that don't know. . . might just be the worst cartoon ever created for any child, of any age. I strongly encourage anyone with a few minutes extra time to You Tube Caillou. . .so long as you have a whiskey and water handy for when it's done.
But they dug it. . .and it was a milk break anyway. . .so the four of them could only hear their own heavy breath as they slurped their milk for thirst's sake rather than the enjoyment of taste. I'm sure they couldn't even hear that terrible Caillou over their slurping. . .
I did take pictures, but have blocked out the other child's face as a privacy to the family. You know how I am about putting family on the internet. . .I hate it. And I hate it even more when people post pictures without asking. . .so his face will be a smiley. You'll get the picture.
They are having a great time playing a duet. . .
So hopefully we'll repeat this playdate. It'd be nice to find someone closer to home, but it's also tough to find kids that will teach Cole good things while having a fun time, too. He's also riding forward-facing in his carseat these days. . . so the drive is much more pleasant.
Maybe pictures next time. . .
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