Obsessions: Part Two

Earlier I posted about your obsession with the Doodlebops. Interestingly enough, that obsession has waned in it's intensity quite a bit over the past few months. You still request Doodlebops videos from time to time, but it's much more managable.

I've observed several other obsessions this week that got me thinking. Number one has to be your blankie(s). I put plural on the end of that because one is never enough. Two is a bare minimum and the more the better. You are picky about your blankies - they aren't really blankets at all but those little hooded terrycloth towels that they sell at Wal-Mart. Pink is the color of choice, but pattern doesn't seem to matter so much. Sometimes you tote around so many of them at once that you can barely walk. They are your comfort when you get a boo boo or get upset, they are a requirement for going to sleep. You use them to clean things, wipe your face (whether that means chocolate or tears), swaddle baby dolls, and you are known to ball them up into a makeshift pillow when riding in the car seat. Not having a blanket has caused many trips to be cut short, as we returned home to fetch one, and once we even made an emergency Super Wal-Mart trip just to get a blankie.

Another obsession is with rubber bouncy balls. Unfortunately every restaurant seems to have a quarter operated machine that vends these pesky toys right at the entrance, so I have little hope of escaping without either buying yet another ball, or facing a tantrum. I'm afraid I'm often just too much of a softy on that point. In any case, any time mommy doesn't give in, there's usually some church person who can't resist adding to the collection. Our favorite Mexican restaurant in Ahoskie, Los Amigos, has such a ball machine, and I think as I type this I can spot at least 5 balls from that particular machine scattered across the living room floor. You just love them - throwing them and yelling "catch!" Using them in your shape sorter or the ball shoot on your Fisher Price play house...

Other obsessions that come to mind include:

• cleanliness - you can't stand to have anything on your hands or face
• shoes - you love to put them on, whether yours or other peoples'
• ice - if anyone crunches on a piece of ice, watch out! You'll be begging for some in no time.
• Elmo - what two-year-old ISN'T obsessed with Elmo?
• water - especially splashing in it, whether in the sink, the tub, or the pool
• swinging - it is the ONLY thing you want to do when we go to the park
• Jessica - your "DeDa" as you call her takes priority over everyone else
• action figures - specifically your Daddy's old 1980's figures, some of which he lets you play with in the "Man-man" closet.
  

I don't know if you just have a little streak of obsessive compulsive in you (your Uncle Joe certainly did when he was little) or if it's just another manifestation of your strong personality. Most of the time, these are just endearing quirks - sometimes, they can be real battle issues, and often are the source of the few temper tantrums you actually throw. I wonder how many of these intense "likes" will remain with you as you grow older.

Obsession

Obsessions are interesting things. Case in point: your current obsession with the Doodlebops has become a family obsession by proxy. For those who may not be "in the know" with what is "hip" in the world of preschool educational/entertainment television, the Doodlebops are a musical band consisting of three memebers - Dedee Doodle, Rooney Doodle, and Moe Doodle. These characters although played by human actors, wear make up and costumes that make them resemble puppets [including full body paint to make them more colorful and puppet-like hands (gloves) and cartoonish hair (wigs)]. They sing a variety of songs about topics such as getting along, the importance of exercise, how to deal with your temper, trying new things, dealing with impatience about growing up, the value of asking questions, and a myriad of other topics. Like most preschool shows it has a lot of repetative elements from show to show that the children learn about and come to expect. Your two favorites at the moment are "Where's Moe?" which is the question asked at the beginning of every show as the other two characters search around the house for him. The other is "Don't pull the rope!" which is what all the character say to Moe right before he pulls a red rope which causes water to dump on his head. You tickle me and your daddy to death when you stand there and pump your arm up and down and say "Don't pull the rope!"

So just how obsessed are you? We bought you a Doodlebops t-shirt at the beach on a whim because we knew you loved the show. As soon as you saw it you immediately wanted to put it on and wore it all day; you even cried when we took it off to put on your pajamas. It's now your favorite shirt and you would wear it every day if I gave you the option. You gasp with sheer delight when the show comes on and begin dancing around the room singing the opening song. It holds your attention from beginning to end. You find the remote and begin saying "T.V. .... Bops!" while pointing at the DVD case with the familiar trio on the front. You would watch the videos all day long I think (of course, we don't let you - for our sanity as much as your need to get outside and exercise!) And what to you want to listen to in the car? Doodlbops, of course.

So now your obssession has become our obsession. We look for the Doodlebops stuff everywhere and I think we've bought four DVDs so far (aren't we gluttons for punishment?) We know all the words to all the songs and can sing them whenever requested. We've read the forums online discusing who was a better manager "Mazz" or "Jazzmine" and which format is better, season 1 or season 2 - and those discussions have carried over to the dinner table. We check regularly to see when the Doodlebops Live tour is coming to our area. It's nuts! I don't know if we'll be sad or glad when you grow out of this Doodlebops phase... I think sad.... but till then we'll keep singing "Get on the Bus" and enjoy every minute.

Food Favorites

Food has always been an interesting subject for you. Since you first started eating baby food you’ve always had a taste for the unexpected. For months you were a veggie only girl – peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes were your standard fare. You weren’t interested in fruits at all and completely despised bananas and applesauce which made you a very atypical baby in the eyes of everyone I shared this fact with.

As you’ve gotten older and eat table food you still lean more toward veggies than sweets, like carrots, corn and peas. You are a chocoholic like me; thanks to Michelle Harrell at church introducing you to the wonder of M&Ms, you beg for those anytime you see a familiar looking package. And like most children, you love ice cream. You went through a McDonald’s chicken nuggets phase for a while, though you’ve gotten away from that recently. I guess just like the rest of us, you got tired of the same-old-same-old. You love apples, and that’s one of your favorite words. If someone opens the fridge you immediately ask, “Apple?” no matter what time of day or night. You also love rice, just like your daddy. Whether it’s fried rice from the Japanese or Chinese restaurant, or dirty rice from Bojangles, you’ve never met a grain you didn’t like. Macaroni and cheese has become a staple – sometimes it’s the only form of protein I can get you to eat. Hot dogs? Forget it… Chicken? Only if Mommy hides it in some rice… Hamburger? You gag… You love bread most of time, and green beans when the mood suits you. You’ll eat your Grandma Bryan’s spaghetti (who wouldn’t?) but no one elses.

You won’t touch cow’s milk in any form (you even turn your nose up at chocolate milk!) so I still give you the stage-two formula at night and I mix it in with your rice and fruit cereal in the mornings. I always worry you don’t get enough protein or calcium. Hopefully you’ll grow out of this milk aversion eventually. Fortunately, you are usually willing to try most anything once. This has resulted in you acquiring a taste for a lot of strange things – dill pickles, sour cream and onion/BBQ potato chips, Doritos, ranch dressing, popcorn… I guess like everything else, Petra, you are unique.

Boy has time flown!

You know, good intentions cannot compete with the demands for attention of a growing baby. I couldn't believe it had been a year since I posted, but raising you, Petra, is my number one priority, my number one occupation - everything else takes a backseat (some further back than others!). So I guess I'll do some backlogging for a few days and try to contain memories before they are lost to me.

Where are we now? You are 19 months old and have definitely started your "terrible twos" early. I don't know - they really aren't that terrible... You are independent minded to the extreme; wanting to do everything yourself, no matter how dangerous or difficult. "NO" is your favorite word at the moment, though your vocabulary seems to multiply daily. I am amazed at your quickness with language; being with your grandparents for a few weeks hasn't hurt. Let's see if I can make a quick list of some of your most said (and understandable) words:

• NO!
• mommy
• daddy
• mama/nana (can refer to either of the "grandma's"
• grandaddy
• dog
• meow
• hey
• bye bye
• sit down
• ouch
• boo boo
• ball
• shoes
• outside
• cheese
• fish
• Elmo
• ice (pronounced "i-sh")
• Doodlebops
• Ei-ei-oh
• tea
• thank you (pronounced "shank-oo"
• Amen! (at the end of the blessing over our food)
• where'd he go?
• there he is! (these last two are probably only understandable by family, but they are always in context of a game of peek-a-boo, so we're fairly confident that the translation is accurate!)

Well, that's a fair sampling. Your Grandma Bryan can translate a lot more of your gibberish than any of the rest of us, though I think perhaps some of it is a little wishful thinking on her part. Much of your speech has come by way of song. You are SOO musical - you only have to hear a tune once for you to start picking up on how it goes and trying to the best of your ability to imitate the words. I made a CD of your favorite songs, both from the television shows you love to watch and Bible songs your Daddy and I grew up on, and whenever we're in the car you sing song after song with such enthusiasm. Daddy and I are always in awe of how good your sense of pitch and timing is for such a little girl. You are nearly always right in tune with what you are singing, and your timing is never off. I guess some musical genes spliced together to create a little music genius.

You are becoming a climber, at least for the past few days anyway. As much as it fills me with dread to watch you turn the couch, recliner, and kitchen chairs into your own version of monkey bars, I am reminded of an article I read before you were born; just like the mother in that article, I don't want to stifle your adventurous spirit, your willingness to attempt challenges, to fail, and to try again out of an overzealous fear for your safety. Obviously there are limits - but a few bumps and bruises are a small price to pay for a daughter who isn't afraid to push herself, to take on the world with a determined grin and push the boundaries people might set for her, instead of a fearful little girl who hides behind her mommy's legs anticipating defeat at every turn because mommy taught her to be that way. I like your personality - even when you defiantly say "NO" to everything, even things you really want to say yes to (granted it makes my frustration level rise sometimes).

Be yourself Petra, and be loud about it. Don't let this world tell you what you can't do.