Buddies

Those of you with children ages 1-5 are probably familiar with "Little Einsteins" on the Disney channel.  Sammy has been in love with them for a while now.  He can be in the foulest of moods, but will turn into an angel baby if he watches his "buddies" on t.v. Several months ago we were at Target looking at toys and he picked out the Einstein figurines. I reluctantly purchased them due to the fact that he's 2 and gets over things quickly.  Especially things like figurines.  I was so wrong this time.  He LOVES these guys and is rarely separated from them.  When we leave the house they go in the diaper bag.  When we exit the car they must all four be in his hands...which is difficult.  They pretty much do whatever he does. If he's brushing his teeth, their teeth get brushed too.  If he's eating or drinking, he shares it with them.  He will give them rides on his toy elephant, his toy cars, and they also join him in the bathtub.  We were in the grocery store one day accompanied by just Leo this time (he occasionally caters to one more than the other). I was trying to keep an eye on the toy to make sure he didn't leap from the cart in hopes of escaping Sammy's death grip. Well, somewhere along the way I lost track of the little fella. Must of been when I was trying to figure out how in the world peanut butter could cost $5!!!!! ( I resorted to the cheap peanut butter which will probably be the cause of my death when I'm 40, but I am not paying $5 for the healthy stuff!) It wasn't until we were on our way home that I realized Leo was missing.  My child was crying and I was stressing....it was only 8:30 a.m. (don't ask me why I was at the store so early) and I was not prepared to have Sammy cry ALL day long about his lost Leo.  I was also not prepared to turn around and go back to the store and hunt for him.  Turns out the little guy fell inside a grocery bag. Thank you Lord!!!!! Seriously, it was a big deal!!  Anyway, today I was on the computer and I knew Sammy was in the room with me playing with his "buddies" content as could be. After a few minutes he came over and grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the chair to show me something.  This child was soooo pleased with himself.  He had come up with a way to prop up the buddies and take them for a walk. Too cute!!!! It is a blast to watch him pretend and use his imagination.  I always swore that MY child would watch very little television because I didn't want his brain to go stagnant.  Let me just say though that I think that his imagination is what it is because of the shows he watches.  There are still lots of useless cartoons out there that do rot the brain, but most things on Noggin and Playhouse Disney are GREAT!!!  I fully endorse television viewing for little ones (within reason) especially "Little Einstein's"!