Friday was a bust... I was feeling crappy and Lyla and I were tired. My house was a mess and I was not feeling up to cleaning nor looking at the filth. It was a rash decision but I decided, why not take Lyla out to a movie, her first movie at the theater. I really wanted to see Brave so that was the one.
Of course I had to Google a few things first: "what age to take your child to movie theater", "toddlers in movie theaters", "Brave for 2 year olds?", "Brave at the move theater". My results were mixed but knowing Lyla has sat through an entire movie before at home, I figured what did I have to lose? Get there and have to leave? I figured, why not!
The movie was at 4:50 so I knocked off work a little early and did the following:
- Popped my own popcorn and filled up our water bottles.
- Stopped at store and let Lyla pick out a 'candy'. She ended up with a Yan yan which she loves and it's not as bad as candy.
- Then I went to Subway and got us flat bread sandwiches for dinner.
- I packed all of this in my bag along with Lyla's blankie, a change of clothes (just in case), sweatshirts for the cold air, and wet wipes.
We bought our tickets - I was appalled at the price...
We did a potty stop and went to pick seats. Rookie error #1, got to the theater too early. We had 20 minutes to kill in the theater once we got there. Luckily I had a plenty of food and snacks so it wasn't a problem.
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| Her seat back! |
Rookie error #2, my child was too small for the seat. She didn't have the weight to keep the chair down and she kept flipping up. I went to ask the staff if they had kid booster seats (I've seen them at other theaters) and they did not. She offered me a box but I declined and decided to figure it out. I tried to find a seat that was already flat but failed. So I put my huge bag on the seat and put my sweatshirt for a cushion and she sat up against it. Not ideal but it worked.
Rookie error #3, messy food. We started with "dinner" and ate our sandwiches as soon as we sat down. That was fine. But then she wanted her Yan yan. I tried to make her wait for the movie but figured I had enough to hold her so I let her have it. It started off fine but got a tad messy. By the time the previews were over, she was sticking her hand in the chocolate dip and her mouth and shirt were covered. No big deal, I had wipes.
The movie started and Lyla was so excited. I had shown her the movie preview before we left so she was already talking about it. On our way to the theater and the whole time we waited for the movie to start, I reminded her she had to sit still and be quiet. I told her it was going to get dark and loud but the movie was going to be super big and really good. She was in awe!
When the movie started she was immediately sucked in. After her snack was done and I cleaned her up, she sat on my lap and we cuddled while we watched the movie. Halfway through we needed a potty break but other than that she sat still and was quiet.
The movie was really good - music was awesome. It was definitely a bit scary for kiddos; more than I had thought. When the bears were growling and fighting, I told Lyla they were going to be okay and they were playing. She wasn't concerned and seemed to like it. I walked away all red eye-ed and stuffy from the tears...
At the end of the movie, she yelled: "That was a good movie! I sit still and be quiet!" Everyone giggled. She was so cute. Since she was so good, I had to go to the store afterwards anyways but we picked out a Brave book for her to have. When we got home, we talked about the movie and read the book. All day today she was asking to see Merida again (from the movie).
All in all I think I lucked out. Lyla was so good and the movie was great. Not something I'll do often because of the price but I can safely say I survived the movies with a 2 year old. It was definitely a fun experience for the two of us and something special to do together.
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