TV and other sports

Newsflash: boys are quite different from girls, even just out of the gate.

I had to force (yes, American Academy of Pediatrics, cringe if you will, but it has been a lifesaver) and I mean FORCE, BRIBE and otherwise CAJOLE Anika into watching Sesame Street. We had to start with small videos on the phone that she had complete control over, and she still prefers scrolling through YouTube to the slow, old-fashioned On Demand (sidenote: at the tile store today, in their little kids' room, they had a VHS and it needed rewinding, and trying to get Anika to understand why she couldn't have Dora thisverysecond was impossible).

Then there's Reni. A typical man, he'll be transfixed by whatever images are flashing across the screen, and seems content to just watch and chill out. Exhibit A: Anika is all about daddy, Reni is all about the soccer on the screen:

We have also discovered That Baby in the Mirror. I remember when Anika was at this stage, and the hilarity at their recognition of you but not of themselves. They are delighted that when they wiggle, That Baby wiggles, and when they giggle, That Baby giggles. Reni, a mama's boy from the start, wonders why I'm looking at That Baby instead of him, and is always tearing his gaze away from That Baby to give me a sideways glance like, hey, jeez, I'm the one you love, right? When he and That Baby are having a conversation in his crib, Reni is entranced until he gets bored by the predictability of it all. Then he just knocks the mirror down. This boy has got skills in the hand-eye-coordination department. 

Don't despair, anti-TV-before-the-age-of-2-subscribers, Reni's best gaze is still reserved for his big sister, who is Revered Above All Others (except when she's mean, and then mom steals the coveted spot as Top Dog).

Since he's got some catching up to do before he can really get her back, we got out the Johnny Jump Up to see how he'd like it. Anika never really took to it, but Reni seems to love it. Not so much jumping at this point as kind of swinging around and trying to get a good look at the TV from this new vantage point:

(A bald spot and little ears sticking out that only a mother could love. And I do. I absolutely LOVE his ears. Armando cringes when he sees them, though, because he has the same ears. And when he was little, the mean kids -- who, let's face it, weren't half as good looking as he is -- would tease him and compare him to a Volkswagen with the doors open. I personally think it's cute, but then again, I drive a Volkswagen, so perhaps I'm biased).

(Also, our TV is still on the floor. I'm probably breaking a hundred parenting safety rules by that, but honestly, have you been out shopping for a large TV stand lately? If you live outside of a major metropolitan area, your in-town options are awful, IKEA doesn't ship, and the other retailers charge the equivalent of a new TV just to have the thing delivered. We have bit the bullet and ordered one that will serve its purpose without breaking the bank, but it is on backorder until late December and therefore we are stuck with TV-on-the-floor for a few more months).