It’s starting to feel like Autumn here in Connecticut and we wasted no time doing some of the most basic Fall things you can do: hitting up the Farmer’s Market and going out for cider donuts.
D and I took Jameson to our local Farmer’s Market this Saturday and it amazed me at how mature he has grown in these few months.
Our first trip to the market was probably sometime in the beginning of the summer and consisted of D shopping for fresh produce and baked goods, and me chasing after Jameson as he weaved in and out of the seller stalls. An Instagram worthy trip it was not.
Cut to this weekend and our little man was in it to win it. He stood my my side the whole time, named the different kinds of fruits and vegetables with me, and happily chomped on an apple that he picked out with enthusiasm.
Earlier in the morning we went to a local diner for an early bird breakfast after dropping D’s car off at the shop. Which brings me to our title topic: dining with a two year-old.
Here too I have seen how Jameson is growing up and into the person he’s going to be.
You see, Jameson loves food but hates standing still. Especially if we are somewhere new like, oh, a restaurant. He thinks its silly to sit and wait for our meal when there are perfectly good nooks and crannies to be explored. Like the giant gumball machine filled with what he assumes to be brightly colored bouncy balls. Or the table of toddlers sitting right behind us who are probably just waiting for a friend like Jameson to walk over and make their acquaintance.
That is where my tradition of bringing a “busy bag” has come in clutch.
I don’t remember when I first heard of the idea of a busy bag for toddlers in restaurants, but it has been a heaven sent more times than I can count. I’m sure it was probably the result of scrolling on Pinterest one sleep-deprived newborn night.
Either way, it helps D and I stick to our rule of no technology at the table. There is nothing we hate more than seeing a kid sitting at a restaurant with their parents, playing on an iPad the whole meal. It’s even worse when the parents are also zoned out on their phone.
Let’s be real for a moment. Tech addiction is a serious thing these days and most of us are addicted to some degree. It can take some planning and commitment to rein it in and focus on the present moment.
In our house this looks like time limits on television, no iPads for kids, and a self-imposed time limit on my own social media accounts to remind myself to unplug. There’s actually a section on iPhones to set this limit, which is helpful.
But back to our busy bags. They usually work out great in keeping Jameson occupied while waiting for his meal. Of course this time in particular I had recently dumped out his busy bag with the intention of refilling it with new items…and completely forgot to refill it.
What was left when inside when I opened it up in the diner? One shapes puzzle and a hot wheels car. Oh man.
I could feel my heart pick up it’s pace as he finished his puzzle for the third time and pushed it to the side.
“Wow, you did!” I exclaimed, a little too excitedly as I eyed our waitress who was busy with another table. Damn.
“You want to try it again?” I asked. My husband shook his head and handed Jameson a hot wheels car instead.
The joy of playing with that lasted about three minutes and then he was trying to stand up in his high chair.
“No no, Jamie. We’re waiting for our meal,” D said.
Jameson sat down with a dramatic cry that had some of the other patrons giving us the side eye.
Trust me guys, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. That was just his warmup cry, I thought to myself.
We went back and forth with this borderline meltdown dance for what felt like an hour but was probably closer to ten minutes, before our breakfast landed on the table.
Jameson happily dug into his feast of silver dollar pancakes and strawberries while I pretended my egg white omelet was just as good. It wasn’t, guys. Nothing is as good as syrupy pancakes. But alas, I’m trying to make sure my pregnancy weight gain stays on the healthy track *sigh*.
It was a close one, but we managed to have a somewhat relaxing breakfast in public, with a toddler. And no tech.
Just remind me to refill the busy bag next time.
Paige is Parenting 