Last night my friend Joelle & I took our sons to the KidSpace Museum in Pasadena for their Monthly Free Family Fun Night. Last night was Black History Month Themed and so they had an African Drum workshop. It was great! The Boys absolutely loved it! The great thing is to watch them enjoy it differently. Joden, Joelle’s son, is almost 11 months old and is trying to walk. He was so excited to see all the kids and to play with Jaxon, I think the added bonus was that there was live music. And Mr. Social I Love To Party Jaxon was damn near break dancing in his Batman raincoat when he wasn’t trying to explain things to Joden in his “I’m the big cousin” voice!
Seeing Jaxon and Joden being so excited to see one another and enjoying every minute they are together makes me feel so warm and excited inside for two reasons. A. Joelle and I have been friends since before we were born! Joelle’s mother, Lucy and my grandmother, Cleonia have been BFF’s since they were 5 & 6 years old! Our families are from New Orleans and both settled in Los Angeles around the same time. Lucy & Cleonia grew up down the street from one another, our families were connected in what some people refer to as the great Creole Migration! Joelle is the youngest of her parent’s two children and is only a few years older than me. Because of this, Joelle and I would play together on the weekends I was at my grandmother’s house. Now we have both had our first children a little over a year apart from one another and THEY love each other. It’s a pretty awesome exciting feeling, most of all for Cleonia & Lucy. Unfortunately, Lucy passed away in early 2011, but I know she’s watching the boys from afar enjoying every minute. On another bittersweet note, now was around the time that Steven and I had marked as the time we would start having more children. Of course now that we are not together, those plans have been scratched and placed on the back burner until I find Mr. Right. But I see how great of a big brother Jax would have been, will be I should say. That’s always a good feeling.
Now back to the museum. Last night was a lot of fun. Basically, every month they put on a special themed night that is free
from 4-8pm. They have some kind of main activity and then they keep their baby playroom & big kid exploring rooms open for free play. Last night because of the rain their program was pushed indoors, but it was still just as fun. They had a little workshop where the kids rotated in and out playing activities & singing songs around African Drums led by a man in traditional African attire. Now my kid heard the music and wasn’t trying to sit and watch, he was up dancing and 
singing! Once we stayed for a few sessions of the drums, we then walked over to the play area where Jax ran around exploring each exhibit with his cape flapping behind him!
I can’t wait to take Jaxon & Joden during the day when we can explore The Trike Track, Kirby’s Kid’s Corner, The Arroyo and Gardens! There is so much for kids to do there at all stages! The baby play section is a sock only zone and babies are free to crawl around and enjoy one another and then venture outside with the bigger kids in Kirby’s Kids Corner. It’s the perfect place if you have multiples at different stages. They also have Baby, Toddler & Kid’s classes throughout the week that combine music, socia skills and other necessary lessons of learning. I encourage you to check it out!
