This week I went to the Pull-Ups Potty Dance Party featuring Ralph's World. It was a free event to people who registered in time, but let's face it, I work full time and am not generally in-the-know about kids events in the city. But, luckily I was invited as a Mom Blogger.Since it was on a week day, my first thought was to pass up the opportunity. However, I mentioned it to a friend and realized that by not introducing William to Ralph's World I could quite possibly ruin my career as Best Mom in the World. (Thank you for enlightening me, Lara.) So, I decided to take the day off and check it out with Grandma H who came in town to see the little guy.
So, first off, I really loved that attendees were asked to bring a diaper donation for a local organization. What bummed me out were the number of moms who did not bring said diapers (tsk, tsk) and that they only mentioned the recipient organization once and in all the hullabaloo, it was lost on me. Could have been a good partnering opportunity to give the organization some face time and potential donors, but that's just how my mind works as a fundraiser....
Going on... Learning the Potty Dance did not make William a potty training sensation over night. We're not quite there yet, but I have a feeling it's coming. On the contrary, he was a little freaked out by the loud music and seemed much more interested in trying to pilfer snacks from other kiddos. However, he loved Ralph. And so did I.
I had a chance to chat with him after the show and, though I could have probably picked his brain for a while, there were way too many moms shoving cd's and children in his hands for hugs, photos, and autographs. (Plenty of mommies were also shoving themselves in Ralph's hands for hugs, photos, and autographs.) Which leads me to this... A 12 month old cannot tell you who his favorite singer is or what kind of music she really loves, so why the following? Why are all these parents claiming Ralph is their kids favorite? Because obviously he's mom and dad's favorite. So, I asked him.... And he had a really good answer.
We vicariously connect with our kids through music (so says Ralph). A baby can't say "I love you," but can smile and wave his hands to a certain song and suddenly your life has been transformed. Even more, it allows parents to dance like kids again and act silly. We can pull out all the moves we wouldn't dare pull out when we're having a cocktail with a friend or dancing at a wedding.
(OK, side note: Anyone who has ever witnessed my crazy dancing moves knows that I DO pull out moves most people would not. Moving on....)
Anyway, it was refreshing to hear that from him. After his history as a rocker (thank you, Alan, for enlightening me) and move to kids music, he seems to have figured out his crowd. And the crowd that is willing to buy all his cd's, beg for autographs, and dance like they're kiddies again. For the record, any man who writes a song about mommies, coffee, and vino... Well, that man is a friend of mine.
So, I guess these days Lisa + Ralph = BFF. And now instead of listening to Dean Martin only, William is willing to listen to Ralph as well. That means he must be good, right?
