East Side Hootenanny

We are blessed that there are tons of festivals and free concerts all over the city throughout the summer.  Some of my mama friends mentioned they go to the Hootenanny, so hubs and I decided it would be worth checking out.  We got there early and were able to claim a primo spot in the back under a tree.  We laid out our blanket and just hung out for a while as people continued to filter in and the music played.

It was a perfect evening.  There was a nice breeze, we were sitting in the shade, there wasn't any humidity, and we didn't get one mosquito bite.  Little Miss pretty much stuck to the blanket.  At one point, Daddy took a little walk with her and left her a little ways from the blanket thinking she'd get practice walking on grass as she came back.  She stayed there for quite a while.  She looked at the grass and squatted down:

She made a friend:

And then she just hung out some more:

Finally, Daddy had to go get her.  She was quite content playing with us:

I guess we should consider ourselves lucky.  There was a mama friend there with an almost 2 year old and he would not sit down.  They spent the entire time walking with him and chasing him around.  Guess 10 months makes a big difference. We were happy that we were able to get out and enjoy some live music and still leave before bedtime.  You know when you're a parent when it's 7:00 and you're heading home in the car talking about what a good night you had.  The fresh air really did the trick because Little Miss fell asleep on the ride home and didn't do any of her usual bedtime antics for Daddy.  The concerts go through June so we're hoping to be able to go to some more.  Last summer I was too overwhelmed and tired with a newborn.  We didn't really do anything.  Here's to a summer of free entertainment and the energy to enjoy it!