Winnie the Pooh

One and a half weeks before Bean's 2nd birthday I took her to her very first movie at the movie theater. The movie theater does a thing in the summer where they play pre-released kids movies at 10:00 in the morning, one day of the week throughout the summer vacation. The tickets are deeply discounted, the snacks are deeply discounted, the leave the lights dimly lit, and all the movies are rated G or PG. After looking over the list I decided that I'd give this a shot with Winnie the Pooh. It seemed the most age appropriate, and it was the shortest in length. Still, I was a bit nervous that she'd a.)freak out in the dark theater with the loud volume and huge screen, or b.)want to leave 20 mins into the film and have a complete meltdown if I tried to convince her to stay. The fact that the tickets only cost $1 made the choice seem obvious; that even if she did BOTH things that it wouldn't be much money lost, so I should go for it.

I had planned on taking her to the movie before I started watching Emily, and before she started taking her swimming classes, and was worried that I'd have to give up on the movie to drive Emily to swimming since her class is at 10:40. Thankfully, my mom was able to take Em to swim and I was still going to be able to take Bean-Girl to the theater!

The morning of the movie I texted with my friend Tessa (Violet's mom) and because her previous plans fell through she and Violet were able to meet us at the theater - which made it a first for both girls! (It was also Violet's actual birthday, so that was a fun birthday outing!!) Before leaving I popped some popcorn on the stove and sprinkled it with kettle corn flavoring, packed water bottles, and grabbed my girl's bunny for added security in case she needed to snuggle.

Bean was a bit nervous through the previews - which were for cartoons aimed at older kids and were a bit dark and Halloweenie themed - but once Winnie the Pooh started she (and Violet) were entranced.

Violet, who LOVES Winnie the Pooh, was cracking up during the opening song/title sequence which made Bean (and us moms) giggle too. True to form, neither girl wanted the snacks that their mom brought, so Violet ate the popcorn and Bean ate Violet's grapes and cheddar bunnies. It was really sweet to hear a theater full of little kids cracking up when Pooh would fall down the words on the page, or when Tigger was bouncing all over the screen - and I was surprised at how many jokes were placed throughout the movie for the adults to enjoy.

With the exception of  a small case of the fidgets (in Bean's case) at about the 40 min mark, there was no fussing, no asking to leave, no wanting to get down, no potty emergencies, no choking on popcorn or grapes... I had worried for nothing!

Bean came away with the knowledge - and love - of Winnie the Pooh, a new word: Honey, and another great adventure with her BFF Violet. I'm so glad that the girls enjoyed it, and I'm so so so glad that I was able to take her and enjoy it with her. When I was little I really loved Winnie the Pooh, but my love for him had diminished greatly as I grew into an adult, but now that my sweet girl has a soft spot for him I find that mine is back, too. ♥