Where A Kid Can Be A Kid

Last Saturday we went to Chuck E. Cheese. There was a "big celebration" of sorts and the place was C-R-O-W-D-E-D. At first Henry seemed a bit overwhelmed with the noise and crowds but he eased into it and loved it. The rides, tickets, pizza, and games were fun, but when Chuck E. made his appearance Henry became a huge fan.

I didn't realize how big of a fan until yesterday.
Henry started acting funny:
He wasn't talking, but he would hold up his hand to give me high-5s, or he'd just wave and smile.
He walked around the house keeping a constant pace with his lips pursed
and he would communicate through gestures--pointing, nodding, waving, poking.
I was a bit confused, but soon I realized what he was up to.
He was acting just like CHUCK E. CHEESE!
At Chuck E. Cheese's Chuck walked around with kids following him in hopes of earning tickets; he didn't talk, he just smiled, waved, and gave high-5s.
"Ooooooh, Henry I know who you are! You're Chuck E. Cheese!" He lit up and held up his hand for another high-5.


"Chuck" last night . . . and "Chuck" this morning. I'd say he has Chuck's 2 looks down.

Acting is one thing Henry's big into these days. A few FHE's ago we played Disney Charades and we taught Henry what it means to "act". He loves to act now and will stay in character for pretty lengthy time periods. His favorites this week are Buzz Light Year, Woody, and Chuck E. Cheese. He tells me sometimes when he's being over-the-top silly, "Mom, I'm just acting." Or he'll request to "do acting" with me and then we spend time guessing each other's characters, or we'll do things like pretend to go grocery shopping, play basketball, and other charades. It is so funny. I'm impressed how he picks out key qualities and then keeps in character so long!

Well, below are some pictures of our adventures at Chuck E. Cheese.


Chuck and Henry
"Hey-ya, Chuck, how do you put this thing in reverse?"
And, "Oh, and let me pull your cup holder out for you."


He loved Jett Rider . . . but was a little nervous, and had to keep one hand on Dad for support.


I think Henry liked it a lot more than the other boy . . .


Probably one of Henry's favorite games was the helicopter. Basically he put a token in the machine, heard helicopter sounds while the token rolled to either 1, 3, or 5 point indicators and then received tickets (1,3,5). We probably spent about 20 tokens there, which later amounted to a tiny lizard (seen below on Theo's tummy) and sucker. Gotta love Chuck E. Cheese.


The race car was so fun to watch them ride together because throughout the ride Henry's facial expressions matched Todd's exactly, whether it was nervous, happy, relieved, or intense. Henry's so much like his dad.
He also loved Barney's choo-choo train.


Theodore was a bit (that's an understatement) overstimulated. I tried to keep him calm and happy.
A binky, blanket, and snuggling next to me did the trick.

We told Henry that he will go back to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate when he gets potty-trained . . . we aim for within this next year . . .


Cute Theodore and the Chuck E. Cheese lizard.