Sesame Street Live

Reid and Lou are only three months apart in age and they both really like Elmo.  So, we thought a perfect second birthday gift for them to give each other would be tickets to Sesame Street Live in mid-February.  It was a bit of a crap shoot because when we got the tickets in December we were not certain if Junebug (it is very strange calling her that now that she is a real outside baby) would still be gestating at the time of the show.  Thankfully she stayed put.

We got Bubby a ticket just in case and it was brilliant to have another adult around.  Three grown ups and two toddlers is just about the right ratio.  I do not work on Fridays (most of the time) and Lou does not go to school.  Norah goes to school for a half-day, so Friday mornings are usually the only time during the entire week that Lou has me all to himself.  We debated about going at a time when Norah could come but ultimately decided this would be something special for just the boys.

It was down at the Frank Erwin Center, which is where the UT basketball team plays.  We thought we were being responsible and went online and bought a parking pass in advance.  The lot we had to park in was about a mile away and lots that were much closer were only $1 more than what we paid.  Advance planning fail.

The story was cute...Abby loses her magic wand and Elmo finds it.  He casts a spell that makes everyone in Sesame Street break out in song that day.  In fact, they can't STOP singing.  The plot was way over the boys' heads but they liked seeing the characters and were really into the music.  The music and 12 bags of snacks I had in my purse.

No big surprise, Lou's favorite character is Cookie Monster.  This is pretty much how he looked the entire time:

There are a lot of things I worry about when it comes to my kids, but either one of them having ADD is not one of them.  Laser-like focus, those two.  I was actually a little bummed that Norah wasn't there because she would have loved it and would have been really into the story.  She is not that into Sesame Street anymore (I mean, she won't turn it down if offered, but that's not saying much), and considers it to be "too baby."  The show was entirely appropriate for a two-year-old, but would have absolutely delighted a four-and-a-half-year old.

There was a short intermission and folks walked around with cotton candy and Elmo head balloons.  They weren't that big and looked kind of half inflated.  Bubby really wanted to buy one for each boy and since it was a birthday celebration we were going to let her if they weren't too expensive.  The lady next to us bought one and I asked her how much and she said $10.  TEN DOLLARS?  That was down right laughable, but I wasn't surprised to see how many balloons were tied to chairs by the end of intermission.  People are crazy.  I also saw more than one balloon float way up into the rafters the second it was purchased.  That would have sucked.

Amy had the nerve to take her nine month pregnant self to the bathroom during intermission and Reid was pissed.

Thankfully she returned and all was right with the world again.

All and all a total success.