Tristan meets Elmo

Daddy had some time to stay home with Genevieve while Tristan and I had some special time together. I took Tristan to an open house at a local children's gym and special guest, Elmo, made a couple of appearances while we were there. We got to run around and play/climb/jump/ride on all the cool stuff and then about once every hour, we had circle time. During circle time we sang some songs and then Elmo would come out and sing and dance some more with us and play a couple of games (think Red Light, Green Light - Elmo style). Tristan did a great job of picking the songs up and mastering the dance moves as he's quite a mover and shaker. He was excited to see Elmo and got to give him a hug but once his turn was over he had no problems running off to find the rockwall, the ballpit, or the little basketball hoop again. He was also a fan of the bars which apparently were just there so Mommy could pick him up over and over again so he could grab on. I think falling back onto the mat was his favorite part of the process so I can't begin to tell you how many times we did this cycle of picking him up, hanging and wiggling his feet for a little while, and then falling back onto the mat while laughing hysterically. I was impressed with his rockwall and balance beam abilities, although I tend to be wowed by just about everything he does. :) We think he's an amazing kid! The second time they announced that Elmo would make an appearance in "15 minutes," Tristan ran over to the carpet and sat down to patiently wait for Elmo and circle time. It was very cute and after a couple of minutes I was able to convince him that we had lots of time to play before Elmo came out and that Mommy wouldn't let him miss it. I was kind of surprised that he even knew who Elmo was since we've never watched any show with Elmo at our house and we only have one Elmo book. I guess just like any other age, toddlers have their social circles where they come to know what's cool and what's not. We met friends Amanda and Rhylan there to play and after about two hours of constant running, we left and had lunch all together. It was just a coincidence, but we also saw friends Sonya, Livia and Matthew at the gym. Tristan and Matthew are only a week apart in age and we hadn't seen them since the boys were only a couple of months old. Hopefully we can plan some playtime together soon. Tristan took a long nap that afternoon and since that day, we have purchased some big boy Elmo underwear...