And so it begins

Now that Hudson is a bit older, I love taking him out and having him experiencing new things. We have done swimming lessons (which I'd like to start again), the library storytime, music classes (which I'd love to take both kids to), and I've been looking for something he can do that's flexible, not a big commitment, something that expends a bit of his energy but also has the interaction and socialization with other kids that I think he's been missing. Because he doesn't get a chance to play with other kids very often (the downside of a work at home momma) it's important for him to learn to play with other children.

I was looking online and found a playgroup that is in our town. It's in a church basement and offered Wed and Thur mornings and is only $2. No sign up required. Perfect!

We went this morning and all in all it was a good experience. There was about 6 or 7 other moms there and about 12 kids in total along with a ton of toys for the kids to play with. Hudson immediately set off to play with the Little People station, not giving the other kids a second look. I sat on the ground and we played for a bit and then I tried coaxing him to walk around to all the other stations to see all the other toys and kids. He went from station to station having a quick look until he found the kitchen set and a group of girls about 4 years old.

The girls were more interested in playing with me since I was practically the only mom who wasn't sitting over by the coffee machine chatting about mini vans and Sparks. We all played for a bit but I noticed that the harder Hudson tried to interact with the girls, the more they acted like he had the black plague. I felt so bad. He tried and tried to play with the girls, seeking their approval by trying to hand them different plastic food shaped items but they refused and ignored him and literally turned their back on him. Then my baby thought it was a game and was laughing and kept trying to play. I tried to explain to the girls that he's only little and that he is just trying to play with them but the girls didn't care and continued to keep him away. One girl even tried shooing him away. I tried to pull him away and distract him so we could play with something else, away from the girls, but no deal. He wanted to stay.

After a bit, he got the idea and walked off to play with some cars and a group of boys. They all happily sat and drove the cars around a mat, crashing them into eachother and sharing the cars amongst themselves.

Hudson learnt an invaluable lesson today; he's going to spend the rest of his life trying to seek approval from girls. I just had no idea it would have started this soon.