Special Moments in the Week of 1/10/2011

The Nutcracker

I was watching Disney's "Fantasia" with Taylor and he asked me about the music he was hearing. I told him that it came from a ballet called "The Nutcracker" and then proceeded to try and explain what a ballet was.

To give him a better idea of the concept, I turned to YouTube and found a clip of a Russian dance company, dressed in belly dancing-esque attire, performing the "Arabian Dance" movement of The Nutcracker. Hoping for awe and enjoyment from my son's uncultured eyes, he instead chuckled a response that a typical little boy would give: "Ha! BELLIES!! That's silly."

I suppose I'm glad that dancing and bellies aren't his thing.

Wet Hands

Late last week Taylor cleaned his plate before Andrew and I were finished with our meals. Stuffed and bored, he decided that putting his fingers into Andrew's drink would be a fun way to pass the time. His little passtime quickly became a game as he got a rise from Andrew's protests, such as:

"Hey!" "Stop that, please!" and "No, no!" After a minute or two of this, I looked Taylor in the eye and firmly said:

"Taylor, please keep your little fingers out of Daddy's drink. He doesn't like that." To which he replied,

"Only big ones?"

Boys' Club

While I was doing laundry this week, Taylor thought it would be fun to play in the nearby linen closet. He brought several of his favorite toys that could fit in the tiny space and closed the accordion door behind him. I chuckled to myself and let him do "his thing." Every few seconds of closet play time, he would slide the door open, poke his little head out, look in my direction and say: "Mom?"

"Yes?" I'd look in response.

"Only big boys."

He'd then disappear behind the closed door as quickly as he had appeared. His privacy was ensured!

"Baby Tonight"

While in Utah for Christmas, my mom was rifling through the family iTunes library and stumbled upon the one of the latest Usher hits, "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love." Taylor asked her what the song was and she replied something like, "I don't know; what is this song, Taylor?" To which he informed her that the song was called "Baby Tonight" (words he heard in the song's chorus).

I guess Nanny + recognized song lyrics is a pretty magical combination for a toddler, because after that, Taylor caught "Baby Tonight" fever! Now, no matter where we are (at home, in the car, shopping...), that's all he ever wants to hear. Needless to say, the music video is now part of our iTunes repertoire.

Think of our singing, jumping, dancing-in-circles Taylor as you view the video yourself: