February 27, 2007

• Daddy and Daughter Day

  Hi there. This is John, Kari’s husband and Anna Kathryn and the twin’s dad. I’ll be taking over the blog today to tell you about my day with my lovely daughter.
  
  Have you ever heard of The Wiggles? Well, until about 6 weeks ago, I hadn’t either. Apparently though they have been around for over 15 years, and are all the rage with the “cool” preschoolers. And since I am the proud parent of the coolest preschooler ever, Anna Kathryn is very “hip” on Anthony, Jeff, Murray and Greg (who’s been replaced by Sam, in case you didn’t know). Imagine my excitement when I heard that The Wiggles were coming to town. Well actually, to me that is slightly less exciting than watching the yard guy spray pre-emergent weed control on my yard, but then I was never accused of being part of the “hip” preschool crowd. But what my daughter is interested in is what I’m interested in, and so I dutifully plunked down for two tickets to see this group of Child Psychologists who actually put their education to entertaining and profitable use.
  I decided to make a day of it. Now I must subject you to that day.
  
  
  
  I picked up some lunch from Chick-fil-A (toddler-speak “chick’n an fries”) and drove downtown, where we parked and walked to the trolley stop. (Hereafter referred to in toddler-speak as the “trolley-train”). As we waited on the trolley-train, my adorable soon to be 3 year old, who was very excited to be about to ride on the “trolley train”, began to call out to it as we could see it coming. “Come on Trolley-Train! Vamanos!” I looked at her funny, as I had never before heard her speak Spanish in conversation. I guess the steady diet of “Dora the Explorer” will lead one day to a brilliant career in the Foreign Service, but today it created an odd moment when my obviously Anglo, blond-hair blue-eyed daughter is yelling out in Spanish on the Main Street Mall in downtown Memphis. (The apparently Elvis-hunting, Japanese tourists at the trolley stop didn’t seem to notice however.)
  
  
  After a most excitable ride for about three blocks on the “Trolley-train”, we got off at the downtown mall, where we went in to eat our “chick’n an’ fries”.
  
  
  
  I should mention, that of late, Anna Kathryn has developed a desire to scoop up and hold tight to any pennies she spies. She would make Scrooge McDuck most proud. (We are working on the “ask before you take” thing, and she’s about got that down.) When she saw the fountain with the coins in it, she was beside herself. Water, her most favorite thing to play in and pennies, currently her favorite “play-pretty”, both together in one place!!
  
  
  
  I’m most proud of her, because while she so badly wanted to get in that water and scoop up pennies, she obeyed daddy, and reluctantly stood up, abandoning her attempt at “fountain robbery”, and threw the two pennies she brought with her into the water.
  
  
  
  
  After we were done at the mall, we went over to FedEx Forum, where Anna Kathryn excitedly ran to the “soccer balls” in front of the arena, but discovered, much to her chagrin, that they were actually heavy, painted concrete spheres that only looked like basketballs, soccer, tennis and baseballs. Oh well, we didn’t come to play with balls anyway. We came to see The Wiggles!!
  
  
  
  
  No matter. We had to go get our tickets. Anna Kathryn was very much interested in that.
  
  
  
  We got there pretty early, but the organizers anticipated that there might be antsy preschoolers there early in need of distraction. So not only were there Wiggles videos’ playing on the monitors, but they had Wiggles crayons and coloring cards at each seat.
  
  Very smart.
  
  
  
  
  
  We were very, very close to the stage. In fact, from my seat, I could have reached out and “touched” different “Wiggles” throughout the performance. Anna Kathryn was just tickled at the entire show, which I would have to admit was a very good show. It was very interactive, and she would get into things here and there, and participate.
  
  
  
  
  This video was taken at the very end, when Anna Kathryn, who had refused to get off my lap the entire time, got brave and went to the very edge of the stage and tried, vainly, to get their attention. However, over the course of the show, she would wave madly at the Wiggles, and three of them caught her eye and gave her a little “wave” and a smile at different times. Made her day.
  
  
  
  
  Well, it was then time to make our way back to our car, via the “trolley-train”. But first, a quick pose in front of the Forum
  
  
  
  
  And then another at the corner of Beale Street and Highway 61. If you are a fan of W.C Handy and “The Blues”, this is supposedly the most famous street corner in America. Or so says the plaque at the corner. (Before anyone calls CPS, we did not go “clubbing’ on Beale while we were downtown!)
  
  
  
  Another “trolley-train” ride
  
  
  
  And then, after a quick stop for some ice cream, the “Daddy and Daughter day” ended with an exhausted little girl falling right to sleep.
  
  
  POSTSCRIPT
  The next morning, Anna Kathryn crawled into bed with me before I was fully awake. She patted my back and said, “Thank you, Daddy, for taking me to ride the trolley-train.”
  
  “You’re my best friend”.
  
  Best return I’ve ever gotten on an investment.
  
  
  

  • 2:00 am
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