Daytime Entertainment

Life has certainly changed over the past 5 and a half months. Mrs. Undaground and I have gone from painting the town red to painting the nursery green. Our weekends once consisted of navigating our way through the seedy nightlife of the bar and movie scene. Now, we find ourselves seeking out daytime entertainment, so that our son has an opportunity to see some seedy people of his own.

Over the past four weekends, we've chosen some family-friendly activities to fill our time and entertain the Undaling.

He loves looking around at things, so I'm not sure how much he's actually absorbing, but I hope he someday appreciates our enthusiasm through this transition.

Here are some of the activities we've participated in recently, and how the Undaling enjoyed them.

Garlic Festival. The Undaling posed for photos much of this day. My father-in-law was in town, so it was a two-camera shoot. The boy also practiced his grimace, each time Daddy breathed on him with garlic breath. He has a very polished, impressive grimace and I am proud of him.

Street Painting Festival. More posing for pictures. I was unable to attend, but reports say he enjoyed himself. I'm a little worried that it will take him awhile to get over the confusion this festival caused. For 5 months, he's been going through life thinking streets are for cars. Now, he thinks that it's perfectly acceptable to paint a pretty picture in the middle of the road. Note to self: Explain this to him once he's old enough to understand.

Zoo. The Undaling spent most of the two hours at the zoo staring at his feet. I'm sure we could have accomplished this in our own living room, but it was nice to get some fresh air and perhaps he liked the way the sunlight hit his feet. He did like the peacocks, though, which is ironic since Mrs. U and I are fans of NBC programs such as Heroes, The Office, Scrubs and 30 Rock.

Sea Turtle Day at the Nature Center. We only actually saw one sea turtle that day, but I'm not sure the Undaling was able to see it. On the way out, they were revealing their "mascot", which was a man in a sea turtle costume. Both the boy and I were a little creeped out by this creature. The highlight of the day for the baby was most likely drinking from a bottle in a butterfly garden. Nothing says peaceful like butterflies and gas bubbles.

Public Park. The boy discovered the wonders of sand, and how much fun it is for kids to play with dirt. Someday soon, he'll be running all over the place like the older kids, and I'll chase him around like the other parents. The people watching is tremendous here. I know that I'll be in those parents shoes someday, but I'll savor the time I have to laugh at them as they run after their kids making sure they have a soft spot to land... once they fall.

Happy Daylight Savings, by the way. Hope nobody was late for work today. Personally, I'm happy that I can wear my sunglasses at night again.