This past weekend the Toddler got to go to her first movie in a real theatre. Given her energy level and the brevity of her attention span, I had put this adventure off for some time. But, the 2nd Grader went to a birthday party to see Paddington, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to take the other two along.
Of course, our first problem was that she couldn’t keep her seat from folding up with her in it. But, we eventually got a booster wedged in tight enough for it to work… for the ten minutes she stayed in her seat, that is.
Our second problem occurred when she spilled her popcorn. Actually, I spilled it under the seat as I was trying to help her back into her seat. Lots of drama ensued until the situation was smoothed over by a pack of fruit snacks.
Our third problem was that we made the mistake of sitting on the row that has bars in front of it, which she viewed as gymnastic equipment to be used during the slower parts of the movie. So, she and Mimi {who accompanied us to the movies for back-up} wrestled with that issue.
And, our final problem was bathroom breaks and aisle access. All things that remind me why we will just stick to at-home movies for the next year or so.
The whole experience reminded me of my first attempt at taking the older two to the movies a few years ago, which was even more of a bust.
This is a recap of that “misadventure” from June of 2011:
In the summer some of our local movie theaters do a weekly mid-morning showing of a G-rated film for $1/ticket. It’s the perfect rainy day or super-hot day activity for children. So, when my sister invited us to join her and my niece for this week’s viewing of the classic animated movie, Charlotte’s Web, I thought we’d give it a shot.
Of course, I’d be lying if I acted like I actually thought this would be easy breezy with the girls. I know all too well about the Toddler’s fear of the dark. But, I decided it would be worth the effort to go and see if we could get over the dim lighting and possibly enjoy a real movie on the big screen. Plus, I was ready to redeem the debacle that was last year’s Toy Story 3 experience.
So… we went. And, it really needs no explanation from here because the pictures I snapped on my phone tell the story well enough.
Once we got to the lobby and the Toddler realized I would be expecting her to walk {in my arms} down the {very dark} aisle of the theater to find a seat, feelings of shock and dread overcame her.
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