Gotta Love Hallmark!

At the Shore this summer, we discovered a new toy for Daniel. It was nothing more than a greeting card. In fact, it was a USED greeting card -- one that Caitlin had given to her father on Father's Day. What made this card unique was that it played music when you opened it. I'm sure you've seen them in stores by now. You know these cards are nearby when you see a grown adult shaking his or her booty to KC and the Sunshine Band's "That's the Way (I Like It)." The card that caught Daniel's attention played Smash Mouth's "All Star." Every time Daniel opened the card, the song would play and he would begin to rock back and forth in time with the beat. It was really quite adorable. So a couple of weeks ago, I made a special trip to CVS to buy him his very own musical greeting cards! I selected two: Another "All Star" card, this one featuring Shrek and Donkey on the cover, and a card that spewed forth the all-too-familiar chorus of the Beach Boys' "Kokomo." ("Aruba, Jamaica..." Come on, you know you want to sing it!) Well, you would have thought I had bought him a new bicycle or an Elmo doll. He LOVES these cards, and gets loads of enjoyment out of playing "freeze dance" with me and Peter. He thinks it is hilarious to open and close the cards as rapidly as possible while Peter and I jerk around like short-circuiting robots. At least the cards are providing him with some quality entertainment.

Then, the coolest thing happened today (besides Daniel eating all of his cream cheese and jelly sandwich for lunch without throwing any pieces on the floor). I was running around the kitchen this morning, as usual, and Daniel was stealthfully transferring pieces of Ollie's food into his water bowl. I tried to think of a way to distract him from the dog food. In a pinch, I began to sing, "Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play..." Amazingly, Daniel turned away from Ollie's bowls, walked over to his other favorite toy, the Fisher Price shopping cart, pulled out the Shrek greeting card, and opened it. As the Smash Mouth song blared from the paper, he looked up at me with a knowing smile on his face. I could do nothing but jump up and down and squeal with delight. He had figured it out on his own, and was just as proud as I was.