Until a few days ago I hadn’t heard of the Nickelodeon pre-school favorites, the Backyardigans – now I am among the initiated! Cindy is celebrating her birthday today (Happy Birthday Daughter #2) with a weekend away at the lake with Brian and other friends and we have the pleasure of babysitting Bella. Knowing how much Bella likes Nick’s cartoon characters, Cindy got tickets for me to take Bella to the performance at Hammons Hall.
I timed it so we arrived right as the show opened and I was pleasantly surprised that Bella sat on my lap throughout the whole show in rapt attention – pretty darned good for someone who’s 3 months shy of being 3. At intermission I bought her a magic wand but she passed on my offer of a t-shirt or stuffed animal – her sights were on the lighted wand and once that was in her hot little hands, she was an even happier camper. She even fell asleep with it tonight. 
When we got home she wanted to swim and I got in the pool with her. She headed for the big slide first and barreled down it, splashing water all over me and shrieking with joy. Then she decided to go off the diving board – she just trotted to the board, got on it by herself, jumped in the pool and dog-paddled her way to the shallow end. Quite the little fish.
To cap off her big day we took her to dinner at Hinode where she behaved perfectly and garnered the praise of the others who shared our hibachi – even the chef was taken with her and entertained her royally with his culinary tricks. By time we got home she was ready to play with Mulligan for a little while and then announced she was ready for bed. She did have a few teary moments today of wanting her mom but those quickly passed and she was on to her next adventure.
Is it my fading memory or do I not remember my kids ever acting this good?
PS to Tammy – that was a rhetorical question – you don’t need to answer!
We were perfect angels! At least the elder of us was. The younger one got drunk in public and acted like an idiot!
For any loyal readers I may have, I need to clarify Tammy’s comments concerning her sister’s public drunkenness. When Ralph was about 2 or 3 we went out for dinner for a family birthday. Before we went to dinner, we gathered at the home of my in-laws for a drink. We were all talking and visiting and no one seemed to notice that Ralph was going around sampling the cocktails – which I recall were probably made with vodka or whiskey.
We got to Red Lobster and she started banging on the table saying “I gotta go potty” – I took her into the restroom where she did her duty and then proceed to just sit on the floor and laugh. My first clue that my younger daughter’s behavior had some chemical enhancements! Later she practically passed out as I put her to bed.
I recall the next day I took her to story hour at the Brentwood Library and she was extremely cranky (hung over?) – the librarian commented that she wasn’t her usual cheerful self but I didn’t bother to clarify that she had gotten drunk the night before. I didn’t want the authorities on my door step.
Needless to say, that story has become a family favorite.
As for the “perfect” older child, she needs to blog about the time she was almost expelled from high school for her behavior.