Hi Friend,

As far as I can tell, Jamie can sing one line of one song. One line of it, on repeat, at the dinner table. I banned Baby Shark from this house before he could walk. We don't stream it, we don't own it, we have never once played it in his presence. Daycare apparently had other plans, because last week he just started doing it at dinner and I had to sit there and accept what was happening.

David thought this was the funniest thing that has ever occurred in our home. He sang along. I am handling it.

This weekend we're having our baby sprinkle in the backyard - co-ed, low key, BBQ vibes, finally a reason to use the new patio. I just really hope the rain stays away, because I did not mean sprinkle literally. Fingers crossed. 

🌱 What We’re Doing

Your week in Charlotte, planned.

CML's Summer Reading program officially launches this week, and somehow the rest of Charlotte got the memo and also scheduled everything on the same weekend. Saturday June 13 alone has 13 things happening - fire trucks in Spencer, ImaginOn's full Summer Reading Blast Off, a street market in South End, Bluey in Kannapolis, and that's before you even get to the evening. Pick your lane early.

✨ A few standouts:

• Summer Reading Blast Off at ImaginOn on Saturday (June 13) has Discovery Place demos, a Space Jam glow party, Grant Williams, and free ice pops. Budget at least two hours.
• Heroes Con runs Friday through Sunday at the Convention Center - kids 16 and under are free with a paying adult, which suddenly makes the ticket math work.
• Bluey is doing meet and greets at the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers game Sunday afternoon - it's also Super Splash Day, so pack a change of clothes. About 35 minutes north of Charlotte and absolutely worth it if you have a toddler in a Bluey phase.

👉 Check out all 40+ events here

🚨 On Our Radar

Quick hits you'll want to know about.

• If you have a baby or are expecting and you created a Target registry, go check your free welcome bag tonight. Target's up&up baby wipes are under a recall for botulism risk, and I almost ignored this recall (we use Honest wipes) until I realized the 20-count trial packs included in free registry gift bags are part of it. Target is notifying people who bought the wipes directly, but if yours came in a bag or as a gift, you may not get the alert. Verify the exact details on the FDA website before tossing, and pass this along to any parent you know who might have these sitting around. 

   

• The USDA will mail you a free meat thermometer if you just call and ask. You also get several copies of a magnet with safe cooking temperatures for different foods - the kind that actually lives on the fridge and gets used. This may be the most random tip you get this week...you're welcome. 

   

• The splash pad at Waverly is currently closed due to water restrictions. If that's been your plan for the week, make a different plan.

• Pineville Regional Library Update: The Pineville Regional Library is still closed due to damage from a car crash. Please be sure to check the library’s website for updates on their reopening before you plan a visit

🌳 Where We're Playing

One place we loved this week.

Honestly? We're playing inside. It's June in Charlotte and the heat is not messing around, which means the library is suddenly everyone's favorite destination and summer reading programs are a very convenient excuse to stay there. Here's every program running in the area right now so you can sign up for whichever ones make sense and let your kid earn snacks and prizes for something they'd hopefully be doing anyway.

• Charlotte Mecklenburg Library runs June 1 through August 15 for ages 0-18. Everyone who signs up gets a Wendy's Jr. Frosty coupon just for registering, which is reason enough to do it today. From there, kids earn prizes after reading for 25, 50, and 75 days - pick up your tracker (paper or digital) at any CML branch. Kids ages 5-18 who log 50 days with a library card number attached are entered into experience prize drawings. All prizes are while supplies last. Learn more here.

• York County Library (Rock Hill, Clover, Fort Mill, Lake Wylie, and York, SC) runs their program through July 31 for all ages, with prize drawings and free events throughout. Sign up at any branch or online. Details here.

• Cabarrus County Library runs June 1 through August 15 for all ages. Register online and earn virtual badges and raffle prize entries. Sign up here.

• Gaston County Public Library runs May 26 through August 1. Grab a free paper reading log at any branch, earn prizes, and get entered into a Grand Prize drawing. More here.

• Books-a-Million has a Summer Reading Adventure that asks kids to read any four books from their list, fill out a simple log (title, favorite character, best part of the story), and bring it into the store for a free gift. Four books. That's it. Log is here and more info here.

• Pizza Hut's Camp Book It is for PreK through 6th grade. Parents track reading through the app, and when kids hit their goal they get a free Personal Pan Pizza. This is going to unlock a very specific memory for my fellow millenial parents. Sign up here.

Worth noting: these programs don't conflict with each other. Your kid can be registered for CML, BAM, and Camp Book It simultaneously and just be out here collecting Frostys and pizza all summer. That is not a bad outcome

• The Charlotte Knights are doing a Thirsty Thursday and Book Club Night on Thursday June 11 at 7:04pm, which means a great night out for everyone. $5 drink specials, local authors signing on the concourse - Jessica Peterson, Nicole J. Owens, Cheryl Campbell, and Mandy Casto - plus indie bookshops including Trope Bookshop and Books on the House, a bookmark-making station, and food with names like Lord of the Onion Rings and Catcher's Rye. It is a baseball game and a book fair and a bar tab in one place on a Thursday night. 

• If you want something quieter, Saturday, June 13 is National Rosé Day and Daniel Stowe is leaning all the way in with their Roses & Rosé Day event. The gardens are at peak bloom right now and they're running a pop-up rose bar where you can build your own bouquet with guidance ($25, while supplies last). There's also a Make Your Own Flower Press workshop if you pre-register ($30, all materials included). Garden admission or membership required for entry; all add-ons are separate. This is worth doing while someone else has the kids for a few hours. Tickets here.

• The KiddieCade just launched Drop-In Play, and if you've been waiting for something like this, it's finally here. Starting June 6th, you can drop your kid (ages 4 and up, fully potty trained) with their team for up to two hours while you run errands, go to an appointment, eat a meal in peace, or just exist quietly somewhere. $25 per hour, $20/hour for each additional sibling. Spots are limited and already booking up, so don't sit on this one. There's also a complimentary coffee bar on the way in and out, which is a deliberate act of kindness toward parents.

• Two books worth putting on your list right now. David just finished The Defence by Steve Cavanagh and is already on book two, which tells you everything you need to know - it's a legal thriller with a con-artist-turned-defense-attorney and apparently impossible to pace yourself with. (He does listen to the audiobook, which, we're not getting into that today.) I just finished God of the Woods and can't stop thinking about it, which is the only book review that actually matters. Different vibes, both deserve a spot on your nightstand. Or your earbuds. Whatever.

• Two Instagram brands turned out to not be scams, which felt worth passing along to the moms. Beachwood the Label is 100% linen (necessary in the summer), and Worth Collective has so many cute dresses and matching sets. Both are worth checking out if you're tired of showing up somewhere and twinning with three other people in the same Anthro Somerset dress print. 

Help The Sprout grow. If one idea made your week easier, please forward this email or tag @thecharlottesprout so more Charlotte parents can find us. 🌱