Barney!!!

For those of you who don’t know Aidan well, the first thing you should know is he loves, loves, loves Barney. It all began back in March when the 2 of us made that horribly long + dreadful drive from the lovely (not) Fort Hood, Texas, to St. Louis. I knew it was going to be awful, and I did everything I could to be prepared. This included stocking up on snacks, a bazillion toys, and, for the first time in his life, a few movies. I bought a portable DVD player and hung it between the seats of the Pathfinder in case of an emergency. Well once we hit Joplin, MO, the emergency had come. Aidan, who was just about 15 months old at the time, was getting extremely irritable. He was so sick of being in the car. It was time to pull out the big guns. First we tried Sesame Street. It was ok for a few minutes. We tried Thomas the Tank Engine. It was ok for a few seconds. Then came Barney + Friends. There it was. We had a winner. And that, my friends, was where it all began. Watching a Barney movie is a morning tradition in the Welch household now. Dan and I aren’t particularly fond of it, but we know how much he loves Barney. And you know what’s funny? I was totally going to be one of those moms who does everything in the books the exact way you’re supposed to. They say no TV until 2 – at all. Well, sorry. I guess I’m horrible. But if you saw how excited Aidan gets, you would understand. And he’s even learned a few numbers and colors from watching. And the song about cleaning up totally rocks, if you ask me, because it really works.

Anyway. That’s enough Barney talk to last a lifetime, wouldn’t you say? The point of the story is that I saw a sign while shopping at the Galleria in St. Louis looking for a winter coat for Aidan. As soon as I saw that Barney was coming to St. Louis, I knew I had to take Aidan. The line ended up being realllllly long, and we waited a couple of hours. But it was worth it to see the excitement on my little guy’s face. He hugged him and gave him a hi-five. And then I took this crappy picture. And I must say, I’m so glad to have this crappy picture. Just because Aidan loves him.