20 out of 31: Dragons & Bug

So today marks the midway point of my spring break staycation. I had the good fortune to meet my sister and her adorable son, whom I affectionately nicknamed Bug, this morning for our first movie date.

Now Bug, in all his 2 and 3/4 years, had previously been to the movies twice. So this was his third movie theater trip, but my first with him. After discussing grubs the entire car ride to the movie theater, I was happy to arrive as there are only so many ways to describe what a grub looks like. I was quickly depleting my vocabulary to describe small, white bumpy worms in as many different ways as possible.

As we entered the darkened theater, I was a little skeptical that he would sit still the entire time, but as soon as Toothless and the other dragons filled the screen he was mesmerized. He was glued to his mama's lap with small fist moving only between the popcorn and his mouth.

He was a trooper. Though this movie lacked songs and music (which I have scientifically determined definitely helps keep the attention span of toddlers with my other 6 nieces and nephews) he sat fairly still and even remembered to use his whisper voice once or twice. About the time the popcorn ran out, he finally scootched my way as his mom retrieved a sucker. And I enjoyed snuggles throughout the last bit of the movie while avoiding sticky fingers.

The best was when his mama and I were raising our seat backs and lowering the recliners as the credits began to roll and she lowered the armrest, too. Bug threw himself backwards (I blame the sugar from the sucker...it hits a tiny tot's bloodstream fairly quickly) and his head and upper torso disappeared between our seats. Luckily, I had a pretty firm grasp of his legs and his mama pulled him back through the space between our seats before he could complete a full backflip dismount from the reclining loveseat.

Once we got back in the car. Bug humored a few of my questions about the movie. He summed up his approval with a brief declaration and then requested to see pictures of grubs on my phone. Luckily, his mom was driving so I could oblige him in the backseat. He was mesmerized by those chubby little grubs, and I was mesmerized by his focus and wonder.

It was a most excellent start to my day.