Thank goodness Cole still plays with his trains. And requests his Thomas pajamas. Because those are really the only clues we have that he cares about his previous favorite thing in the world.
It started innocently enough. A simple Netflix dvd. The sequel to an animated movie he had previously seen, enjoyed, cared little about, and I thought this might be some fun new entertainment for both of us since I hadn't seen the second film yet.
Now Cars have taken over my son's world.
He takes the rubbery Tonka cars--with eyes like in the movie--that his grandma gave him to bed and drags them back into the living room first thing in the morning. He asks for the movie to be replayed as soon as it finishes.
Actually, he asks for it to be restarted before the end credits begin. Right after the big chase scene at the end, he senses the final wrapup and wants to skip the denouement in favor of the beginning. He likes the journey, not the destination.
While he watches, he plays. Bumping the cars into each other, racing, making vroom noises. And, our favorite, "do do doo, do do doooo" exciting James Bond-style action music just like the score of the film. It's opened up a whole learning and creative process for him. At bedtime, we review the colors of the cars. Yesterday at the store, he picked out new Lightning McQueen sippy cups...though he was disappointed they didn't have cars inside when we got them home. But now he drinks along--maybe even milk not in a bottle?
When we made a trip to the store yesterday as a family we finally decided it was time to return the original Netflix that started all of this before Christmas. He still was asking for the movie that comes from the kitchen (where we keep the Netflix dvds) this morning despite owning a copy for himself--in a real box.
And last night, before an epic bedtime meltdown, we'd let him stay up "late" to watch the original version which we also got. It was, oddly, like watching the continuation of the sequel. A whole new story to love with his favorite new characters. Backwards, but how toddlers work.
Who knows what he'll move on to next, but what I know for now is that it's a true family film in which we all find something to enjoy. Kelly is looking forward to seeing the original now since she was making pizza during last night's viewing. We quote them. We notice new things each time. We've all learned about motor vehicles in the same way we all learned about trains.
It's funny how the whims of a toddler can lead down a long road of fun for everyone. And thank God he doesn't like Barney!
It started innocently enough. A simple Netflix dvd. The sequel to an animated movie he had previously seen, enjoyed, cared little about, and I thought this might be some fun new entertainment for both of us since I hadn't seen the second film yet.
Now Cars have taken over my son's world.
He takes the rubbery Tonka cars--with eyes like in the movie--that his grandma gave him to bed and drags them back into the living room first thing in the morning. He asks for the movie to be replayed as soon as it finishes.
Actually, he asks for it to be restarted before the end credits begin. Right after the big chase scene at the end, he senses the final wrapup and wants to skip the denouement in favor of the beginning. He likes the journey, not the destination.
While he watches, he plays. Bumping the cars into each other, racing, making vroom noises. And, our favorite, "do do doo, do do doooo" exciting James Bond-style action music just like the score of the film. It's opened up a whole learning and creative process for him. At bedtime, we review the colors of the cars. Yesterday at the store, he picked out new Lightning McQueen sippy cups...though he was disappointed they didn't have cars inside when we got them home. But now he drinks along--maybe even milk not in a bottle?
When we made a trip to the store yesterday as a family we finally decided it was time to return the original Netflix that started all of this before Christmas. He still was asking for the movie that comes from the kitchen (where we keep the Netflix dvds) this morning despite owning a copy for himself--in a real box.
And last night, before an epic bedtime meltdown, we'd let him stay up "late" to watch the original version which we also got. It was, oddly, like watching the continuation of the sequel. A whole new story to love with his favorite new characters. Backwards, but how toddlers work.
Who knows what he'll move on to next, but what I know for now is that it's a true family film in which we all find something to enjoy. Kelly is looking forward to seeing the original now since she was making pizza during last night's viewing. We quote them. We notice new things each time. We've all learned about motor vehicles in the same way we all learned about trains.
It's funny how the whims of a toddler can lead down a long road of fun for everyone. And thank God he doesn't like Barney!