Won't you take me to...GattiTown!

Whenever we're in Lexington, we try to make sure we stop to have lunch at GattiTown, one of Matt's favorite places. It's kind of like Chuck E Cheese, only a lot less frenetic and a lot more enjoyable for the grown-ups. We've been often enough now that he has his own little routine - pizza first, then a lap of the game room, stopping in the middle to do his own special Gatti Dance, followed by Skee-Ball, basketball, a few Thomas the Tank Engine videos, more Skee-Ball, and finally a trip to the prize store, where he uses the tickets he's (we've) won to get some really badly made fake Matchbox cars.

We went last week after his pre-op appointment, and it was probably the best trip yet. He charmed the manager on the way in, who gave us free tickets to ride the carousel. Matt had never ridden on one before, so I was a little unsure of how he would take to it. Of course, I shouldn't have worried about my little daredevil. As the horse started to go up and down and the carousel to turn, he started smiling, then laughing. Soon he had abandoned holding on to the pole and was sticking his hands straight up in the air like he was on a roller coaster. Luckily Charles and I were standing next to him to hold him on the horse, or he probably would have been spun off into the bumper cars. Then again, I'm sure he'd think that was fun, too.

He also played his first video game. And no, it wasn't something sweet or kid-friendly, like Nemo or Spongebob; no, no, it was The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift.




He noticed the cars first, then hopped up in the seat to use the steering wheel. In an impressive display of bad parenting, we pumped some money into that sucker and let him go to town. (Charles worked the gas pedals for him.) He had a blast and finished 7th in his race. I played next. I finished 8th.

Yes, my two year old beat me. Now, those of you who have seen me drive (both in video games and indeed, in real life) are probably not surprised by this. But it still stung. You don't expect to get schooled by your toddler.

I demand a rematch.