"I'm Not an Ambi-turner."

Benjamin shows off his dance moves while stopping to strategically strike poses, bringing to mind his Boolander days. And, just like his male modeling icon, it's apparent from this video that he's not an ambi-turner.

Tiny Dancer 3, or Not ALL Television is Evil

I generally don't allow Benjamin to watch very much T.V. I'm not one of those hardcore anti-television parents for whom watching television is tantamount to smoking crack, but I do prefer that Benjamin occupy himself by doing things other than staring at the idiot box.

Look at what happens when Benjamin watches TV... My vibrant little boy becomes a total zombie. A cute, chubby little zombie, sure, but a zombie nonetheless.

Still, there are times when the television can be - dare I say it? - an absolute godsend. This afternoon, for example, I was in the kitchen desperately trying to put together a lasagna. I was simultaneously boiling pasta, frying ground beef, draining spinach, and mixing bechamel and marinara, which meant that Benjamin wasn't getting any of my attention. He was about to go into full meltdown mode, so to buy myself 15 minutes of time, I let him watch a bit of a Mandarin-English preschoolers' program called Ni Hao, Kailan (which, to you Chinese folks out there, should really be called Ni Hao Ke Pa, Kailan).

.

Toddler + Television = Zoned-out Child with Glassy Zombie Eyes. Pretty scary, huh? And to think that this was his response to an educational children's program designed to be interactive and engaging. It would stand to reason, then, that a primetime television program geared towards an adult audience would really zombify him. Right?

.

Not really.

.

That's Benjamin watching Mommy's guilty pleasure, So You Think You Can Dance. And instead of getting zero enrichment from this cheesy, primetime show, he actually does seem to be getting something out of it, though I'm not sure what exactly. A good laugh, perhaps? Some slick dance moves? I'll let the toddler girls on the playground be the judge of that.

.

So let this be a lesson to all of you moms out there: reality television is "better" for your children than educational programming.

Tiny Dancer Tosses His Cookies... Literally!

Last Saturday was the first open-air concert of the summer in the park, and the entire neighborhood turned out in force to soak in the music and the sun. We were no exception, and we turned the concert into a chance to do a few of our favorite things - hang out with friends, gorge ourselves on fine food, and drink alcohol out of sippy cups.

We enjoy every outdoor concert the neighborhood organizes, but this one was especially nice because my mom was in town to enjoy it with us. She'd flown in from China a few days prior, and even though she was still jetlagged, she joined us in the park, where Benjamin did his best to keep her energy levels up.


Did you notice how he started rocking out at precisely the moment the vocals kicked in? I smell a Tony in his future!

Anjali, Berry, and Benjamin pow-wow; Anya shows her her most charming smile; and Benjamin and Nolan play ball with Vince.

While the grown-ups were busy chatting, the kids were partying it up on their own. I actually think that Benjamin may have had too much (milk) to drink.

I could hardly believe my eyes! First I catch him dancing maniacally - all by himself. Then, he (literally) tosses his cookies. And finally, he stops dancing only to blatantly ogle a pretty girl!

Hmmm... Maybe there's no Tony in his future, after all.