Gonzo Playgroup

The other day I took Lola and Locke to their first playgroup. It was organized by the Mothers of Twins club and the location was a shopping mall play area. Lola and Locke are a little young for that type of thing since they don't walk yet but that didn't stop them from having as much fun as any of the other kids there. And speaking of other kids, there must have been 50 kids playing in this walled off area. And, although it's bigger than many Manhattan apartments, it's still small enough to fit in the middle of the food court. It was a madhouse, as my dad would say.

Lola and I found a spot on the outside edge of a tunnel and she spent most of her time practicing standing. She's getting very confident. She'll pull herself up to a stand and then let go. She used to either nestea plunge backward or double over onto her head (with me there to catch her, of course) but now she's gaining much more control. She can actually balance for a few seconds -- long enough to be able to say truthfully that she is "balancing." Or at least long enough to say "Look! She's balancing!" From time to time she'd take an interest in a toddler or my handbag, and on occasion she'd stand and give a little happy yell as a declaration of her accomplishment.

Locke gave us a sweet glance and then crawled over to the opposite side of the tunnel to check out the situation. I realize now that Locke thinks he's 9 years old instead of 9 months. He took off for the most popular structure as soon as he spotted the activity, crawling as fast as most of the toddlers could run. He crawled through the tunnel, stood up and peered over the wall at a toddler who, when he saw Locke, yelled, "Look at the baby! Look at the baby!" Locke began to look around for the baby too. An adorable 5-year-old girl was also amused by "the baby" Locke. But Locke just thought she was flirting and started waving at her. My favorite, though, was a little boy (3ish? I'm so bad with ages!) who came over to Locke, smiled at him, and patted him on the head. He then started gently rubbing his head. (I don't blame him -- I know from experience how good it feels to rub his head.) After a minute of that he bent down behind Locke, gave him a tender hug, and then darted off. Locke then continued his exploration.

I kept thinking Locke would lose track of Lola and me and get nervous. But he never did. In fact, the few times I walked over near him to make sure he knew I was still watching him, he gave me a quick glance and then continued doing whatever he was doing. Was that my glimpse into the future? In that brief instant I'm driving him to school and, when he sees his friends walk by, he ducks down in the car seat so they don't see him with Mommy. Nah, that will never happen.