Dinner Out

In early April, my family came to visit and we ate dinner at one of my favorite Chinese food restaurants

 

We haven't taken Daniel out for dinner in a long time.  We've had lunch dates with friends that have gone quite well in the last month, but I knew that the time would come when he would be too much to handle at a restaurant.

As a parent, I want to have a well behaved child who has a predictable routine.  Going out to eat at 6 PM doesn't bode well for this, since he is usually having bath time, book time, and bed time by 7 PM. 

As a person who loves eating out with friends and family, I also didn't want to have too many distractions from the experience of dining.  A baby can be a big distraction.

I also must balance my desire for him to try new foods and have new experiences. Our family really enjoys going out to eat and has had great conversations and memories from dining out.

And the memories of ill behaved children in restaurants that plagued me as a server.

However, Daniel was fairly well behaved during this meal.  He was excited to sit at the table with us and he seemed to enjoy eating his food while we were eating ours.  When he became too noisy (and these are happy noises we worried would bother the other patrons), Dan took him outdoors for a walk.  It worked out pretty well.  If we had quicker service or less food or ate our food faster, perhaps he would not have gotten so squirmy and we all could have had our dinner together.

 

I really hope that Daniel will have good table manners so I don't have to give up going out to eat with friends and family.  I hope he will enjoy this experience, too!