With yesterday being Free Comic Book Day, it got me thinking about my experience this year at C2E2 with my little girl. Every year I usually go to Wizard World all weekend and geek out with my fellow comic book enthusiast. I plan my days, make list of what I want to buy and just enjoy walking around and seeing the many sights that the con has to offer. Most of the times I go alone because plans with my friends fall through, but for the past few years I have taken my nephews and wife on Sunday, which is normally kids day.

With this year being the first year of C2E2, it was also the first year that I had a group of friends going and I also had someone else coming with me, my daughter. Now my daughter is only eight months old, but I though it would be fun to enjoy this day with her. After dropping my wife off at work, I got home made sure everything was packed and waited for my friend Gabriel to pick us up. I was kind of nervous and excited to attend the con, but I guess I was nervous about how my little girl was going to act to all the people in costume.

When we got there, we met up with fellow Fandad Gil and walked around for a bit on the show floor. The great thing about being there was that I saw so many other strollers being pushed around and as we passed each other by we would just smile and nod. Being at the con was now a completely new experience, because I was sharing my love for comics with my daughter and seeing other dads doing the same thing with their children. I saw many parents and their kids dressed up in costumes. I saw fathers explaining to their kids who the costumed characters were. At one point I saw a father and son going through back issues and getting excited about their findings. This was definitely a brand new world for me.

Some of the cool things about having my daughter with me was: her stroller was like Moses sometimes and people would part like the Red Sea when we walked by. The cart gave us extra storage, so it made it easier for us to carry our findings. (I strongly recommend getting the Mommy Hook for your stroller, because it really comes in handy) Lastly, having my daughter in the stroller really saved my back from carrying her around all day. Don’t get me wrong, I love holding my daughter, but after a while the weight starts putting a strain on you and you have to put her down.

For most of the time we were there my girl was just chilling in the stroller looking around, smiling at the people, waving at others or just napping. We were having a pretty great time, but then it happened. The one thing I worried about was: How was my daughter going to react coming face to face with a costumed character? Walking around a corner we saw a character standing there that made my little girl lose it. Who was this character? Why it was none other than Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba her favorite show. As soon as she saw Brobee she started shaking with excitement. She was petting him, smiling and just giggling to see him in person. This whole meeting could have gone one of two ways: her freaking out and crying or the way it did go down, with smiles and laughs. It was the best thing I saw all day and I’m glad I had someone there to take pictures of the entire meeting. Her smile was contagious, even I got excited to see Brobee standing there. After our time with him and the pictures we took, my little girl was still looking in his direction as we walked away. I called my wife and told her about the meeting, the baby’s reaction and she wished she could have been there to see it.

This year being the first of C2E2 and taking my daughter with me made it a really memorable experience. I feel that she enjoyed seeing the different people, meeting Brobee in person and I enjoyed sharing this world with her. I did return on Sunday with my wife, unfortunately Brobee was not around that day, so we just enjoyed the day walking around and seeing the showroom floor. With Wizard World a few months away I’m interested in seeing how that goes, but I know for a fact that next year when C2E2 comes around it will definitely be on our calendar of things to do.

-Victor