New Shoes and Balloons

Well, Kenny has finally moved past being fixated on only one thing (that is, playing his Rodney Atkins CD 400 times a day).   He is now also fixated with  putting his “big boy” shoes on and then taking them off at least ten times a day.   That, and carrying around an unfortunate mylar balloon that I thought would be a good idea to buy for him because he loves   “BOOOONS!!!” so much.   I figured that the mylar was a lot safer than the traditional rubber balloons.   Little did I know that he would carry it with him for a week straight.     Snack time, diaper changes, and playtime…. Boon was always there.   It got in his way, irritated him, got tangled around his feet and bonked him in the head.   And yet he loved that shiny floater.

I actually finally popped the sagging and limp metallic blue balloon today when Kenny unexpectedly went down for a nap.   I popped it and hid it in the bottom of the trash can.   When Kenny got up from his nap, he went straight to the closet where we had put the balloon for  its “nappie” and started calling, “BOON!   BOON!”   “Honey, the balloon went away.   Baby, I’m so sorry,”   I said.   We then exchanged these same two sentences for another twenty minutes before he finally walked away and came back a minute later with his shoes.   “OO?”    

So we spent the next twenty minutes putting on his shoes and taking them off again.   When he tired of that, he marched over to the stereo and patted it like a good friend.   “Aaahhh…” he said, smiling.   I keep reminding myself that it could be Barney.  

Isn’t it funny how kids will get so fixated on certain things?     I hear so often that babies and toddlers love repetition.   Then again, I eat the same cereal in the same bowl, leaving it for the same amount of “sog time” every morning, and I still love it.   Maybe I can make this work to my advantage… anyone out there ever get a toddler fixated on matching and folding socks??