Places I Have Been: Library Lapsit

For babies! For babies!

The Kiddo has made her own nap/waking schedule as her cute little vampire teeth come in (she's got the bottom front two, and RANDOMLY, her top two canines are coming in) and since she's up at 8:30am now, I decided we should try going to the library lapsit storytime at 10am.

Because I am Semper Paratus, we got to the library parking lot at 9:51am. Cars were pouring in and parking, but no one was getting out yet. "Weird," I thought to myself as I got in the backseat and started strapping Kiddo into the Beco, "I didn't realize how many suburban moms come to this thing."

I looked up at the front door and watched an old man try to open it. To no avail. It dawned on me that the joint must open at 10am. Meanwhile, cars continue to fill up this parking lot (are there THAT many people with nothing to do on a Wednesday morning but go the library?) and no one gets out. Finally, I guess it must have hit 10am because three or four brave souls started pulling the doors and a harassed-looking library staffer came running from inside and unlocked them.

We got into lapsit and I had to fill out my name and Kiddo's name on a green frog, which was then taped to my shirt. Kiddo sat in a circle on a little carpet sample square (REMEMBER THOSE??) and I sat behind her. There were around 10 other moms/grammas and kids, plus the librarian. Bless the librarian for trying, but she kept talking in this 'ittle wittle voice as she read the first book (about springtime coming in both English and Spanish) and I realized we were gonna be listening to this someone-told-me-this-is-how-you-talk-to-children voice the whole time.

Now, I do my share of voices with the Kiddo. For some reason utterly unknown to me, I affect this absurd ghetto-talian tone when checking her diaper (and always ask "Do you have a dirrrrrty d?" Like someday she will respond.). I also spoke in the ghetto-talian voice when she used to sit in the swing and I would kiss her feet while declaring, "Mmmm, baby feet-a! I love to eat-a baby feet-a!"

I didn't say I was perfect.

But I do always read to her in a normal voice. I can't expect my daughter to be The Youngest Reader Ever if she can't understand what a word is supposed to sound like. I do inflections and everything with different characters, but I don't talk in itty-bitty silly-willy baby voice.

The librarian did.

There was a break between La Primavera and the second book about a bunny (which involved the librarian roaming around with a bunny puppet on her hand, "talking" to each of the kids [in ittle-wittle voice, of course]) where two inflatable beach balls were tossed into the ring, with the understanding that the babies would bat them to each other. Obviously, our kids don't have motor control when they're IN LAPSIT, so it was really all the moms holding their kids' hands and trying to "push" the ball while apologizing to the librarian, who had to keep it in motion.

After the bunny book, there was "music time" (I THOUGHT THIS WAS LAPSIT STORYTIME?) where a bin of noise-shakers were brought out and the kids got to make music while hits like "Funga Alafia" were played.

Kiddo just tried to eat her shaker and stuff it on her teething gums.

Then we were shoveled out so toddler storytime could commence! Twenty short minutes of two books, a beachball scene, and Funga Alafia.