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Have you moms of boys been to Urban Belly lately? They've really expanded their baby and toddler clothing offering, and from what I saw yesterday, looks like lots of options for our little men! I'm thrilled!
And aside from having great clothes, the women running the store have great expertise when it comes to locating those unique items for your stylish little people. They helped me find a pair of black crib shoes for my 7-month-old... a hunt I'd been on for weeks!
Our family almost never gets down to the Southridge Mall, but we might have to break from the norm this Saturday. Check out all the mall has planned for Celebrate Families Day, Nov. 3.
From the introduction of the new Steve & Barry’s store and fashion show, a Hawkeye/Cyclone Biggest Fan contest, and story-time in the recently opened soft play area, the day will offer a variety of activities for families.
One note: It's a little funny that they're having Iowa and ISU "biggest fan" contest on game day... won't he/she be at the game (or at least watching on TV)???
Dena Maxwell at Allegro Music Studios sends us the following reminder:
Registration for playful music classes for birth to age 4 begins November 1. The Bunny Class classes start November 29 and go through February 26 with a 4-week break for Christmas and New Year's.
The Des Moines Symphony Academy will offer a free demonstration class for its new early childhood program called Music for Me.
This demo class will be held Tuesday, November 27th, at 10:00 a.m. in the Recital Hall, 4th floor of the Temple for Performing Arts.
This demo class is open for all children ages 18 months through 6 years, with an accompanying parent or guardian.
Regularly scheduled Music for Me classes begin January 8, 2008. Classes will be offered on Tuesday mornings for the Academy’s 10-week winter session. To enroll your child, contact Academy Registrar Joshua Barlage at 515-280-3332 or do it online!
UPDATE: Just received this notice from the libraries:
The Visiting Nurse Services have cancelled the flu vaccinations that were to be given at the various Des Moines Public Library locations.
It's that time of year again, and this time, there's plenty of medicine for everyone. To get your flu shots, check out an area library or mall...
East Side Library, Oct. 18, 4 to 6 p.m.
Valley West Mall, Oct. 20, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Central Library, Oct. 25, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Valley West Mall, Nov. 1, 5 to 7 p.m.
I hate to give the Flying Mango a negative review, especially since it's so great for adults. But for kids, not so much.
It's just such an intimate little place, and the food is very special (read: spicy), so it's just not right for the little ones... at least not ours, who screamed when he ate the BBQ sauce (and our son is NOT a picky eater), tried to extinguish the candle on our table with his dry fingers, and ran into the open kitchen on the way to the potty.
Like I say, great for us, but I just can't recommend brining the fam here. That is, if your family includes tiny tots. But if you're a crew of over-age-10 adventurous eaters, this is your restaurant!
We went to the Machine Shed for Sunday brunch, and it was great. Our two-year-old was free for the brunch buffet, which has everything from eggs to waffles to donuts on it.
The best part for our son was the "big boy" high chair. Because he has a huge problem with high-chairs, this one, which is disguised as a regular chair with straps, was a hit.
The place is busy, which can be bad if your child throws a big scene, but great for the little ones, as his voice is drowned out by hundreds of others.
There's plenty of crayons and paper, but the potties are in the middle of the gift shop. Not so great for little hands intent on grabbing everything expensive in sight.
This place, up on Merle Hay, is never busy, which is great for our tantrum-throwing toddler. And the staff is always so great with him. Every time they come to our table, the servers engage him in coversation and try to distract him from whatever he's freaking out about at the moment.
The kids menu has Mexican and non-Mexican options, and the Mac n' Cheese, although disgusting in appearance, is a crowd favorite. And it comes with Jello... you can't beat that.
This was our second year to visit Howell's. It's about 20 minutes outside the city (take the Cumming exit off 35 South, turn right and watch for the signs). Also a Christmas tree farm, Howell's is the quintessential pumpkin patch.
Aside from the quaint gift shop, huge petting zoo, even bigger pumpkin patch and exceptional mum patch, the playground is stellar. It's enormous, and has tire swings, a pedal-tractor track with bridges and a barn, slides, a 15-ft. tall hay stack for climbing, a corn crib with diggers, pails and shovels, a toddler hay maze and a miniture rabbit petting zoo.
We went with our daycare, so it was only $5 for the kids and the adults were free, but this may be different for individual families.
The only mild irritation I suffered was realizing that the pumpkins in the pumpkin patch were still on the vine. Try telling a 2-year-old intent on THAT ONE that he can't have that one because you're not strong enough to dislodge it.
Likely the only place you're going to find Shepard's Pie on the kid's menu, The Firkin and Fox is a welcome addition to the Des Moines restaurant scene. And it appears, at first glance, to be family-friendly (unless you have a problem with the word "frikin'," which the marketers of this British-style pub play on frequently).
Plenty of high chairs and at least one changing table puts this restaurant on our "to try" list. My husband and I went there as a couple and loved the atmosphere (well, let's go with decor... the atmosphere was a little wierd, as we were there on opening day and there was more staff then customers).
If anybody takes the kiddos out there before I get a chance, send in your review! You can email me or just add a comment to this post.
