Woody's Roundup

To understand this clip, you first have to remember that the life of a toddler is the life of many mini-obsessions. This one started with Pez dispensers, solidified by watching a movie and then furthered along by the purchase of multiple action figures. That's right, I'm referring to the Bub's love of all things Toy Story.

These days he has graduated to watching TS2 on a fairly regular basis. This after having viewing the original Toy Story and TS3 more times than Wisco and I should mention. And mostly we're not upset with this obsession, as it doesn't involve killing or guns and is deeply rooted in the notion that friendship is a highly valued relationship. That said, I think we'd both be happy to take a break from playing Buzz and Woody.

So here is the Bub is singing his rendition of "Woody's Roundup," the theme song of the tv show-within-the-movie that starred his beloved Woody.

Welcome, Maya!

Cousin Maya and her minders have arrived from Hong Kong for the summer.  She and Sasha got together and we've barely seen them since.  They are together from dawn til bedtime and I don't think I've seen them fight once.  Frankly, I'm amazed at how well they're getting along.  So well that everyone feels comfortable leaving them to play alone upstairs without supervision for at least 5 minutes at a stretch.  I suspect that Sasha is following more rules than usual due to Maya's modeling of good behavior.

They've been playing pretend with dolls and little people, building things with Legos and tiles, and running around screeching because an imaginary badger is chasing them. The Bub is even learning how to play games: Zoo Bingo (what a great game for older toddlers!), Red Light/Green Light and What's the Time Mr. Wolf?  He's getting the concept of taking turns and winning and losing.  And Maya shows incredible patience both with his learning curve and our fudging the rules for him.  I see a rousing game of Candy Land in the near future.

The photos below are courtesy of Alice, Nadya, me, and mostly Margot.

Playing "Red Light, Green Light."

Sasha didn't totally get the concept of red light.

Mr. Wolf chasing his prey.

Meet Solene.

Buddies at the beach.

Rainbow ices!

Losing consciousness after a hot day at the beach.

My pedicure courtesy of Maya (right foot) and Sasha (left foot).

After dumping the basket of Legos down the stairs, the rascals announced, "That's a big party down there!"

Watching Mandarin-English TV.

Bling.

And bling.

Behaving nicely at New Leaf Restaurant.  (Excellent food if you're in NYC.)

Maya fixing Sasha's pin while he's in the stroller because "I'm in twubboh" for running away.

Superhero Conversations

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Superman: Do you like my red ass?

Mamu: What?

Superman: My red ass.

Mamu: What are you talking about?

Superman: My red "S," here on my chest.

Mamu: Oh yes, that's a very nice S.

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At bedtime, in the crib:

If I throw Batman onto the floor, you will pick it up for me. 
--That's right.
If I throw it on the floor again, you will not pick it up for me. 
--That's right, too.
Batman will stay on the floor forever.
--Well, maybe not forever.  Just until tomorrow morning.
No. He will stay on the floor forever.

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Hurry, Woody!  It's eleventy twentiddy clock!

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Superman to the Green Lantern: I'm going home to be Clark Kent now.  Do you want to give me a hug?