First date

Jack and I had a playdate today. With someone I had not previously known BC (before children). That only took the better part of a year.

We hung out with a cool mom and her little boy, who is two months older than Jack.

We played it coy for a few months during Kindermusik, chatting here and there, real casual. I didn't want to come off as desperate or anything. A few weeks ago, I made the first move, asking if they might want to get together some time.

We exchanged info and set up something casual, but had to reschedule a couple of times. Clearly, we both had commitment issues. Finally, we settled on today.

I was a little nervous. You never know -- you hit it off at first, but what if there's an awkward baby fight over the cow from the farm set? Or maybe the other kid starts wailing on Jack and I have to encourage my son to go all Tony Soprano on him?

I am happy to report we had an excellent time. The boys played well together and even had matching sniffles -- so no need to feel like we exposed anyone to the ebola we might have running through our house again.

The mom and I hit it off and had lots to talk about. We had such a grand time, we're going to meet up next week again at an open gym thingy at a local baby play center.

I wasn't sure about the protocol of a playdate, however. Do you go empty-handed? Do you bring flowers? How about a bottle of wine? It was 11 a.m. you say? On my lunch hour? OK, perhaps not so much the wine. I thought about bringing some baby snacks, but then that seemed weird. Hi, here's some Cheerios! And sippy cups for everyone!

Next time, we'll have to set something up for Happy Hour. Jack says he prefers a drink in his hand to break the ice with new friends.