Oh Man!

One of the cinemas in town in offering free movies on Saturday mornings, so I took advantage of the deal and took N to his first ever movie at the theatre. I decided it was a good test run.If he wasn't interested in the movie or wasn't able to sit still in his chair there wasn't a big loss in having to leave a free movie. To be even more frugal, I snuck in my own popcorn.. But I did buy a drink there. One reason I brought my own popcorn is because I bought the kind w/o kernels or seeds. N hasn't eaten too much popcorn in his short little life time, so he still hasn't fully grasped the idea of not eating the seeds. I didn't want him to eat and choke on a seed in the middle of the dark theater, so I brought my own. Makes sense, right?
Anyway...Space Chimps was playing. That was not a movie on my "to see" list, but I figured N would probably like it, so N and I checked it out while Daddy got to stay home for some time to himself. N was amazed by the "big tv." He was so mesmerized by the whole thing that he sat in his seat and didn't say a word for the first ten minutes. (Believe me, ten minutes of my child not saying a word is a loooong time!) At one point in the movie the chimps crashed the spaceship on the ground. When the spaceship hit the ground the theatre went silent and the movie was silent....but my child was not silent. He yelled out "Oh man!!!" Luckily the audience was made up of mostly kids and parents, so everyone in the theatre found it funny and laughed at his reaction. There is a ten minute intermission in the movie.. I guess they do this for any little kids in the theatre who may have to go potty and so Mom and Dad can get refills on treats. This is a great idea in theory, but it did not work to my child's advantage. It only revved up his little engines and made him want to climb on the faux stage in front of the movie screen to dance for everyone. He ran up there a few times and I caught him before getting onto the stage. He screamed "I dance, I dance, I dance" as I carried him back to our seats. Unfortunately N was not able to overcome his desire to dance (and he wouldn't dance in the aisle right next to me), so we had to leave promptly after intermission. I'm sure he will learn the etiquette of movie viewing sooner or later, but I can see we have some work ahead of us. We might try another freebie movie again this weekend since the weather has turned cold once again.