John is passionate about all things Curious George, who, as you all know, lives with the man with the yellow hat in New York City, so John was very excited when he learned we would be going there. We also checked out in advance a few library books about New York City and two videos about airplanes and taxi cabs. (John now does a fantastic job pretending to hail a taxi.) When we boarded the plane, I was surprised that the pilot invited John into the cockpit, as I didn't think pilots did that post-9/11. (When, oh when, will this "smiling" phase end so that adorable photos aren't marred by John's weird facial expression?)
We experienced a comedy of errors over dinner. After settling into our hotel, we asked the concierge for a restaurant: "We have two small children"--and we were standing right in front of the man, so he saw their ages--"so we'd like to eat somewhere casual--no white linen--loud, inexpensive, and close." He said he knew just the place and gave us a name and directions. On the walk there we passed many reasonable looking hole-in-the-wall restaurants, but we pressed onward to the restaurant that had been recommended.
When we got there, we saw the prices on the menu outside the door and blanched. However, because of our travel and Chris' business meeting upon landing, we hadn't eaten since breakfast. We were very hungry and decided to pay for the expensive meal rather than keep searching. We walked inside only to discover that the restaurant was basically the opposite of what we requested. There was white linen and delicate wine glasses on all the tables, the waiters were dressed to the nines, and the place was silent.
John eats at restaurants often, but they are usually a notch above McDonald's and don't require fine manners of a two-year-old. He couldn't possibly handle the behavior required of him and it was a very tense affair for all involved, despite the smiles we managed for the photo above. We wolfed down our food so we could get the children out of there and afterward I felt like we'd thrown that money into the fireplace.
Hang in there! Remember to care less about what others around you are thinking, especially in resturants with small children in tow. You are an example to a dying trend: Parents who actually have children and raise them without nannies!
ReplyDeleteWe have that horrid stage as well with the posed photos. It helps if we don't ask the child to smile and only draw his attention to the camera a moment before the photo is taken. We also have lots of action shots. Twos and threes are so cute in action shots!
I have to laugh. Your commentary about the restaurant comes AFTER the picture, so I saw the picture first. And my immediate thought was, "Wow, John must be a better restaurant eater than Theo. We don't even TRY anyplace with tablecloths!" Then I read your paragraph about the restaurant and realized, with a bit of relief, that your toddler has the same restaurant issues as mine (and probably every other toddler on the planet)!
ReplyDeleteMichael taught Joseph to make a "happy face," which is basically a sickenly sweet over-the-top smile - but we tell him to make his "happy face" when he is angry or upset, and it usually makes him feel better. He will also do it for pictures. It's a little contrived, but we'll take what we can get!
ReplyDeleteJessica: Thanks for your encouragement. You make a good point about our nanny culture.
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