On Frozen, Superheroes, and What I See in the Toy Aisle

Dear Disney,

If you are going to make such marketing moves as calling a Rapunzel movie "Tangled" and an ice queen movie "Frozen", please be aware that the boys who flocked to the theaters might have actually enjoyed the movie. Yes, the romantic plotline between Hans and Anna goes over my son's head. Yes, if you ask him, he'll tell you that the movie is about how Elsa runs away because she's looking for her glove and then a giant snowman chases them all. But still, he enjoyed it and I think he might be wondering why everything related to a movie that's supposedly for boys and girls is completely bathed in pink.

And on that note, Disney, let talk superheroes.

Did you know girls can be superheroes? Really, it's true. There's these characters called the Sailor Soldiers and these other characters called the Powerpuff Girls and they're actually whole teams of super-heroines! Check them out. But that's not all. Girls and boys can be on the same superhero team! In fact, you may be surprised to know that boys will not be horrified at the idea of a girl pictured with the mostly-male team. So when you go to make something related to Guardians of the Galaxy or the Avengers, can you please stop cutting the few girls on the team out of every single image?*

Seriously, not every little girl dreams of being a princess. Some just want to kick the bad guy's butt.

Sincerely, Me (mommy to one boy and one girl.)

*Of both these issues, I notice the lack of girls on the superhero stuff way more than the deluge of pink in Frozen. And to be honest, the former irks me way more than the latter.

JT Flashback #1: 18 Months

As the new little one has been creeping her way up the growth charts, I've been reminiscing about JT's younger days. Also about the blog posts I wrote and never got around to posting. Here's a fun little one from when JT was just 18 months old:

JT has been on a "no" kick lately. He naturally uses it when he doesn't want to do whatever it was I just asked him to do, but he's also using it to tell other kids what to do. See, he has yet to add the infamous, "Mine!" to his vocabulary, so when he sees a kid approaching that he think might take something of his, "No!" is the word of choice. He also has a real tendency to yell this at kids who (in my mind, anyway), clearly don't have the slightest interest in taking his stuff. They just happen to be standing near him. He's also way more apt to say it to kids his age than older kids. For the preschoolers who approach him, he just sort of stares in awe at their tallness and ability to use full sentences.

He's also picked up "All done!" as a way to tell me when he's finished. Not just with eating, but with anything. Tired of waiting in line at the store? All done! Don't particularly want to go see the doctor? All done! Want to get off the changing table before Mommy has even removed the dirty diaper? All done! When realization hits that this magic phrase doesn't stop everything he dislikes, he gets quite irritated.

I feel like toddlerhood must be this crazy frustrating time when it comes to words. For a short while, there's the thrilling realization that, "Oh my gosh! If I use these word things, I can actually tell the adults what I want!" Then comes the devastating realization that even though Mommy clearly understood you, she still chose to ignore your request. I can see why the two's are terrible. Learning that the world doesn't bend to your will like you once thought is a tough lesson. Unfortunately, if we don't want our kids to grow into impossibly obnoxious adults, it's a lesson all parents have to teach.

My fear right now is when the new baby comes home, JT is going to take one look at him/her and proclaim, "No. All done!" and expect me to take the baby back to the hospital. (Update: He did actually say this when he visited me at the hospital, but mostly because he wanted to go and look at the cool train they had set up in the lobby.)

Hiatus Again

We're coming down to the wire on the new arrival, although not quite there yet. (I'm thinking of calling her Nene or something online, because that's what her brother said the first time we tried to get him to say her actual name.) So until big events start happening, expect me to be pretty quiet for a while once again. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and Happy New Year!