The past few weeks, I've attended the Red Balloon Bookshop's Baby Storytime on Tuesdays at 10:15am. I had heard from a mom at the grocery store and a mom at the toy store about it - namely: to get there early, it's really fun. So, without having a real understanding of what storytime would be like, I found myself standing outside the Red Balloon Bookshop one Tuesday morning, along with about 30 strollers and babies and toddlers and moms and dads and grampas and grammas...
The doors opened and people made a bee-line for this small amphitheater space as if they were running late. It was only 10am. This storytime didn't start for another 15-minutes. Maren and I were moseying our way through the store: "Maren, look! A book about tadpoles/A stuffed gorilla/A ladybug sticker/etc.!", while the woman behind me impatiently prodded me forward with a barely audible "ahem." Unbeknownst to me, people take their storytime seriously. We found a seat in the back (seems safe when you don't know what you're in for), and as if on cue, moms (and a rare dad) would pull out of their diaper bags a sippy cup and a snack to keep their little ones occupied while they waited for the show to begin.
Yes, the show.
This is a serious endeavor, educating your little babies in the ways of storytime and songs and oohs and aaahs! Not being a "real" stay at home mom, this whole experience was a bit overwhelming. And not just for me! Maren's eyes were almost popping out of her head. I mean, she and I spend a great deal of time singing and rhyming and doing much of what this class does, but with 40 other people all doing the same thing? That's a whole 'nother experience for my little introvert (and for me, too)!
This past week we brought Megan and Emmie, who also had the first-timer-bugged-out-eyes, too. And, all four of us will be back next week. There are some serious rhymes I gotta get memorized, my friends.
But if you're ever around St. Paul on a Tuesday morning, check it out. There's a toddler class right afterwards at 11, too.
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