Hanging Out with Aardvarks

Olive and I had the opportunity to hang out with some aardvarks last Saturday.  Well, not actual aardvarks, but a fun Music for Aardvarks class at a quaint little bookstore in Jackson.  We got a sneak peek of the cd before going to the class and it sounded really fun.  Olive loves anything musical and I figured she'd have a great time.

Fast forward to the morning of the class... The event was being held at an unfamiliar book store in an unfamiliar area and Olive had a few meltdowns that morning while we were running errands.  I almost talked myself out of going because "Olive was too tired", "I didn't really know where I was going" and "It would be easier to just hang out at home".  Those all sounded reasonable and I almost gave in to my own persuasion.  I'm so thankful that I didn't listen to all those silly thoughts.

I decided to say YES to a new opportunity and set my expectations really low.  It was fine if I got lost getting there, it was fine if Olive wasn't interested and we had to leave early and it would be just fine if I didn't know a single person at the event.  Once I committed to going, I felt energized and excited for the class.  I talked to Olive about where we were headed and told her it was going to be really fun.  I want her to be excited for new opportunities so I figured this was the perfect opportunity to model that even though she's so little.

We arrived without much trouble and found a seat.  I smartly selected a seat near the exit just in case Olive and I had to cut out early.  The class filled up and Olive kept asking Who's that? and What's this? to all of the new surroundings.  Olive stayed close and even held my hand.  The teacher was adorable, introduced herself to the parents and then started strumming her guitar.  Olive was mesmerized.  She sat so still and soaked it all in.  I knew right then and there that I had made the right decision and we were going to have fun.

Olive wasn't as excited about the reading portion of the rockin story time so she branched out and found a book or two to look at on her how.  Apparently sheep are fascinating :)

 We learned a few more songs with hand motions
and then the teacher pulled out baby maracas for all the kids.
Olive squealed with delight and was excited to have her own instrument to play.  She completely disregarded the designated times to play them and shook them throughout the whole song.  It was adorable to watch.  She was so proud of herself and I was proud that I pushed myself to make sure we had this fun opportunity together.

 I'm reading The Best Yes with my Bible Study ladies and this was definitely one of the best yes's I said all week!!  I'm on the hunt for our next new experience to say yes to.

Ever heard of Music for Aardvarks??  It's darling, a little pricey, but really fun.  It's pretty popular in big cities and the songs are really catchy (they'll definitely get stuck in your head :)  Here's the website for the classes in Jackson.  You can follow them on twitter to see where they are holding free events and classes all around the city.