How To Scare Your 2 Year Old for Their Birthday

Everyone,

• Take your newly turned 2 year old to a restaurant to celebrate his birthday.

Tonight we decided that we would go out and celebrate the boys turning 2 (again...it's been a weekend of celebration) and go to dinner. Now dining out with 3 little kids is always an adventure. This one did not disappoint. We took the family to the same place we took Butterfly to celebrate her 2nd birthday. It's a fun little steak place called Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse. They have good food and are very kid friendly. They also have animatronic animals that talk and move there! Butterfly barely ate when she turned 2, and the boys were no exception.

• Entrance them with animatronics of woodland creatures.
  

We sat right underneath the huge talking Bill the Buffalo. I had Professor next to me who did not move a muscle the whole time we were waiting for food. I could see him looking around suspiciously, without moving his head. First, a fish moved. All the kids jumped and stared at the thing flopping around on the wall. Then a raccoon jumped out of a barrel. Professor pointed it out (the other kids had their backs to it) and just sat there pointing. And then the buffalo started to talk.

• Watch them jump as the buffalo head above them started to talk.
  

The first time he started to chat with us, both boys stiffened up and then bolted into our laps. Butterfly just laughed. We were trying to order food at that point and it was pretty comical to the waiter to see their reactions. They sat in our laps the whole rest of the time. Pirate would not let Juice take his arm from around him. The moose on the other side of the room was cause for concern as well, but mostly the talking buffalo.

• Encourage talking to the moving woodland creatures to try and alleviate fear.

This meant that Juice and I were waving to the raccoon in the barrel and responding to the buffalo head. Butterfly got a kick out of it. The boys still looked at them suspiciously. Professor would stop whatever his was doing and watch the raccoon. He even paused with a spoonful of macaroni and cheese to his mouth to watch it look around.

• Switch kids. Get poked in the eye. Have to take someone away from the table for time out.

By the end of the meal, I had Pirate and Juice had Professor and Butterfly. They give out ice cream cups as part of their kids' meals so the kids were enjoying some ice cream. Pirate wanted to do it himself. Fine. But then the fish started to flop around again and he flung the spoon, full of ice cream, right at me. Luckily the ice cream did not come off the spoon. But I grabbed his hand just to be sure. Then he and I started struggling to gain control over the spoon. I see the ice cream start to slip off the side. I eat the ice cream. There was a huge scream and a flinging back with the hand I just let go of. The one with the spoon. Then the spoon hit me in the eye. Pirate started screaming louder. We left the table mid fit. The entire restaurant was watching us go. I heard, "That kid has some lungs!" and "Listen to that banshee wail!" as I was exiting.

• Sit with child in time out in the waiting area. Have him jump back into your arms because of a moving owl. Decide it's time to go home.

I put him on a stool and told him to calm down. I sat down on the bench next to him and counted to ten. He and I looked at each other and smiled. Then the owl moved. I swear he launched himself into my arms so fast he broke the sound barrier. Time to go, I think.

• Get in car. Look at husband. Laugh and shake your heads.

Seriously I don't know why we do these things to ourselves but we do. Butterfly declared it the best meal ev-ah and wants to go there for her birthday dinner. I think we can handle another round there! Maybe.

Safire