Build Me Up Buttercup

(My apologies for the lack of posts - it seems I have been trying to catch the bug that has been going around. Luckily, I have fought it off for the most part.)

During playgroup at the county library on Tuesday, the wonderwife noticed a Daddy & Me program to take place that weekend. After she consulted with the little one about whether or not Daddy would want to go, they quickly made a reservation and picked up a ticket.

I would have gone anyway, but when I saw the excitement in the little ones eyes - I knew this was something special for her. It was OUR day. I told her that I was going to be taking her out on a "date" this weekend and that was all she talked about for the next three days. No matter what time of day or what the topic of discussion, she would quickly turn the conversation to her big day out with her Daddy.

I had to say, I was loving the attention.

Not only was it the little one and myself that were excited about the library trip, but apparently the wonderwife was very happy to get some time alone. She quickly pointed out that it had been ages since I had taken the little one anywhere alone. While her statements were all about how we needed to do more things together, I think deep down inside she was thankful to get some time alone with a bowl of ice cream and "She's Having A Baby" showing on HBO.

Saturday morning came and I got up early to make sure I got cleaned up and dressed nice for my little one. I think I surprised her by even shaving off the prickly whiskers that seem to bother her all the time. When she emerged from getting dressed, she looked gorgeous and couldn't wait to head for the library and our "date".

The library seemed to be an older structure from the outside and was tricky to get to, as a small labyrinth of one-way streets ultimately led you to the parking lot. I explained to her that since she had been there for playgroup earlier in the week and I had not, that she would have to show me where to go. She quickly took my hand and led me through the bug, heavy doors and down the steps to the kids area.

The program was about music and how to recognize different sounds and pitches. Most of the kids sat in the middle of the floor while the parents sat on benches along the walls surrounding them. Because the benches were full, I chose to sit on the floor along one of the bare walls - fully expecting my little one to ditch me for the fun and excitement of other kids her age.

Here comes the surprise. She didn't.

She sat on my lap the entire time. When the instructor handed out instruments for them to play, she went up, received hers, and came back to me to play. When she was shown music programs on the computer, she would go up to watch with the other kids - but always return. And when she had the opportunity to sit with the other kids during story time, she chose to stay and sit with me.

You hear that? That is my heart filled with pride. She CHOSE to sit with me.

Afterward, I signed the little one up for her very own library card and let her pick out two music CD's she could listen to on the drive home. We then called Mommy so the little one could tell her about how her day was. Then she come up with a line that I will never forget and will surely bring up again when she is a teenager.

"Well Daddy has to take me to eat because we are still on our date."

I guess dating and eating are forever linked.

I let her choose the restaurant - McDonalds of course - and settled in with one of her newly borrowed CD's. After going the wrong way on a few of those aforementioned one-way streets, we found our way, listening to the very first song of the CD - over and over and over again.

She apparently loves the song, "Build Me Up Buttercup". This version, however, was not sung by The Plantations, but by a group of kids and adults who call themselves the Sugar Beats. While I must confess, the song is extremely catchy - there comes a time around the 1,472nd playing that in begins to wear on you. Wear on you as in, driving you from the room screaming "I can't take it anymore!".

I let her chose the seat at McDonalds, of course she chose the table right in front of the television that had the Disney channel playing on it. I watched her as she watched Chicken Little and noticed that she was actually eating her food while she watched. Lunch time is always interesting with the little one, as she likes to order the food, but rarely eats it. But today was different, she was on a "date", so she ate her chicken nuggets without prompting from me - never noticing the irony of what she was eating with what she was watching.

Ok, maybe it was just my morbid mind that thought of that.

After lunch, we headed home to Mommy and showed her all of the goodies she had gotten at the library program. The kazoo that she couldn't figure out how to play, the bookmark that she pointed out was free, the sticker she received for getting her very own library card. But above all else, it was the CD's she had gotten. Or to put it in more simple terms, the first song off the first CD she listened to.

I think all of us are hating the Sugar Beats and "Build Me Up Buttercup" right about now. Thankfully there not a shortage of Tylenol around.