This eating out thing is a new adventure (and as you’d expect some adventures are more pleasurable than others). So when we headed out to Saddle Ranch at Universal Studios (whose tagline is Steaks, Bulls & Rock ‘n’ Roll) to take Bart’s parents out and thank them for all their awesome help this past week, I had mixed feelings. Not every eating out experience with sweet Zoe has been a hit now that she doesn’t just sleep through everything in her stroller… (oh, the good ol’ days)

But I must say, this one turned out well! First of all, there are about 27 televisions hanging from the ceiling in Saddle Ranch – talk about baby overload. And there were lots of people everywhere both inside and outside the restaurant, more good baby stimulation. Bart immediately asked the waitress if Zoe was too young to ride the mechanical bull (thankfully, she is). Though that’s the one bit of fun we did not get to see – no one rode the bull while we were there… Regardless, Zoe was awesome.

When our plates arrived (and they barely fit on the table – see Bart’s mom with hers below), we started the eating circus. A bite of applesauce from Dad to Zoe, a bite of steak from Mom to Dad (which made Zoe curious), followed quickly by a sippy cup with water to Zoe (held by mom), followed by another spoonful of applesauce from Dad to Zoe and so on. [insert your own circus music here] What I love about waiters in most restaurants is that they have no qualms about putting a steak knife in front of a baby. When babies evolve and figure this out faster, there will be fewer waiters… or smarter ones?

To wrap up the evening, there were 2 roaming musicians with guitars delivering the promised Rock ‘n’ Roll in duet format, so we brought them over to the table for Zoe’s first personal live music performance. I asked them for a good “Little Girl” song (she’s not picky), and they instantly started playing “I’m a Believer” by the Monkees. If you haven’t heard that in a while – and you need a smile! – click HERE for a great version! Zoe stared at them through the entire song (while the rest of us smiled and laughed just watching her). Then at the end we all clapped – and finally, she gave a little confused clap of her own, which the musicians said made their night :)

And thus ends another adventure of the many to come. HUGE THANKS again to Bart’s superhero parents for the babysitting, pantry fixing, stovetop installing, garage cleaning, garden rescuing, and more that they’ve done over the past week. They are truly inspiring. As if 51 years of marriage weren’t inspiring enough! THANK YOU!