Nesting and Dot and Ziggy

We had a really, really good weekend. Despite the contractions and the general feeling of hugeness, I made it to soccer and W did awesome. He listened, participated, and never had an "I wanna go home" melt down. Some major nesting kicked in, so we stocked the freezer with goods from Trader Joe's and Harrison's. We went through six containers of W's clothes, organized, consolidated by size, and then washed and put away all of the 0-6 month stuff. My parents dropped off the bassinet, swing, car seat and base, and bouncy seat. We introduced W to Chinese food and I managed to get caught up on a ton of work. And then on Sunday morning we took W to his first play, Dot and Ziggy.

Dot and Ziggy was the cherry on our weekend sundae. When I was first invited to see Chicago's first live theater experience for babies and toddlers, I had some reservations... I expected mass chaos and a 20 minute attention span from W before he started asking to go home. I couldn't have been more wrong. It was really awesome and for the number of kids that were there, the fussing was practically nonexistent. W was totally consumed by the show. I thought he was the perfect age, but honestly, every kid seemed pretty entertained. I would guess it's good for kids spanning 9 months to 5 years. I can't remember a single meltdown, which in itself is amazing.

How do they make sure kids aren't melting down? I think the key was not sitting in a traditional theater setting. Instead, we sat on rugs (they very kindly brought me a chair, which I didn't even have to ask for) and the actors moved throughout the room. There was music, lessons, and lots of physical movement to keep the kids interested. And it was about 45 minutes long. Perfect amount of time.

If you're looking for something to do with your tot, you should for sure check out Dot and Ziggy. Tickets are $16 on weekdays and $18 on weekends, but I have a coupon code for you to lighten the bill: Use MOMDZ to save $2 off tickets.

Let me know if you go and what you think about it. My advice: Don't tell your kid they're going to a PLAY. W was totally confused why there weren't toys when we walked in the door. He expected the biggest PLAY TIME of his life. Instead, we had to explain that it was a SHOW, like a tv show, just with real people. It took a while for him to get it, so consider the words you choose when taking your kid to his first 'play.' Lesson learned.

Disclosure: I received three complimentary tickets to Dot and Ziggy through Mom Impact. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and I posted about it by choice, not obligation.