Saturday, July 21, 2012

Little Monkey Bizness

Andrew's car spent a couple days in the shop this week.  I drove across town to drop him off at work.  Not wanting to have to drive back across town in the heat, the kids and I spent a few of our days at my parents' house.

It opened up a few more play options for us during the day.  I took the kids to Little Monkey Bizness.  Little Monkey Bizness has a huge play area set up for young kids, and it's walled off with a door you can only open from the outside.  Next to the play area is a cafe, so parents with independent children can sit, sip on a coffee from the coffee bar, and watch their kiddos play.  At $8 per child ($5 for crawlers under 1), it would be pretty pricey to make regular visits there.  I have to say, it's a very nice place to go as an occasional treat, and their discounted prices on Friday evenings looks inviting.

We were there all morning, and almost all the kids there were around Oliver's age: 2-3 years.  I loved that because I didn't have to worry about him getting trampled on by large children.  It's summer time, so it's safe to assume older children could go there but don't.  Most of the equipment is clearly for small kids.  I wonder if older kids are more likely to come in the evenings.  Thankfully, there's a second area set up for crawlers and toddlers, with a sign posted on the door asking that no kids over the age of 2 enter.

Oliver found a jump area that he loved.  He's only just started to jump with both feet, and, even then, he prefers to hold on to something when he does. Hanging behind him in the photo are some "U" shaped pads that the kids would straddle like a horse and then jump up and down. Oliver was hesitant at first to do it, but by the end of our morning there, I could hardly get him off of those things.




Jo happily played with some of the small toys.  She doesn't crawl yet, so there was no charge for her to come into the play area.  She was fascinated with the large bouncy balls, but she ended up crying when they came too close.



Rocking in the "boat":

Things to grab!

I really enjoyed our morning at Little Monkey Bizness.  I wish it was a bit more affordable and a bit closer so that we could go regularly.  I plan on checking it out on a Friday evening, since the price drops to $5 per kid those nights.  I want to see if our experience is just as enjoyable then, or if it's a more rowdy, chaotic time to go.

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