Yes, indeed ... birthday cakes DON'T bounce. Thank you, Elmo.

We've developed a bit of an addiction to "Elmo's World," and by "we" I totally mean boy. He loves it so much that we watch it now ONLY during meal times (save the finger shakes -- I KNOW). I happened to discover sesamestreet.org, where there are five entire 14-minute episodes of "Elmo's World" as well as a host of other short Muppet clips, and it has totally saved my sanity.

In the "Balls" episode, Elmo discusses things that do and don't bounce. When Elmo gets to the part where he observes that "birthday cakes don't bounce," boy LOSES it.

There's a lot I love about this short video clip.

In no particular order:

1. The way boy ramps up his laughter as the delightful image nears of a birthday cake crashing to the ground.
2. The faces boy makes as he chews on his finger at the beginning of the second clip. He's making the classic "Hey, I just came from the beach and I have sand in my teeth" face, although whatever was in his teeth was probably only green beans.
3. The way, when I correct his "Yeah" to "Yes, mom" he starts to say and sign "Please".
4. The way he gets so excited when the "Elmo's World" theme starts up (I think he even begins to dance and wave), then immediately whines in dismay as I fast-forward.
5. The way his furrowed brow lightens magically when he realizes he gets to watch a cake being smashed AGAIN.
6. The laughter, of course.
7. And finally, the crazy assortment of toys on his high chair tray. I can spot a cast-iron tea pot, a toddler crayon, and a tube of toothpaste. Hey -- he can play with whatever he likes, as long as he EATS SOMETHING.

Why didn't they teach it to us like this?

If you've got to have the alphabet song stuck in your head, you could do a lot worse than this version with Ray Charles. You could probably even swing dance to this version. I LOVE IT.

Someone warn Dorothy ...

The answer to the question, "How did that kid eat all those goldfish so fast?" is apparently, "He shared them."

Take a close look. You'll find them. I'll bet that Muppet is stuffed.

Tastes like chicken, no doubt.

So we have these two nice, leather chairs that have at times resided in our library and our family room. They're cushy and comfortable and our favorite places to slump down to read, and they're really well made, so we think we'll get to keep them for a long time, maybe even give them to boy and any future theoretical siblings someday.

That is, if all the licking doesn't ruin them first.

I got it, kid.

Boy just unloaded a whole alphabet's worth of flashcards onto the end table, made sure they were totally out of order, then turned to me and announced, "Mess." As if to say, "Would you get on this, please? SLACKER."

Thanks a lot, kid.

"I got it, mom."

An actual conversation from this morning ... "Son, you look a little stuck. Do you need help?" 

Pause. (Tiny voice) "No."