Meerkats and Iquanas

Samuel has been giving me grief about getting into his car seat lately. How does a 1 year old give one grief? Well, he struggles, wiggles, cries and fights with every bit of muster he can to get out of his car seat as soon as I put him in it. So, I have resorted to using the DVD player in our car. Usually this is reserved for longer rides or per request from time to time from Benjamin (generally, he's a music guy and would rather listen to his music collection in the car).

So, I put in a DVD that we've had since Benjamin was a baby and Benjamin calls it "Baby Words" but it's actually a really great DVD that has lots of video of babies, animals, numbers, etc. And it's all set to some popular Christian music. We all enjoy it. Until recently, when I noticed Samuel getting extremely upset (furrowed brow, screeching, on the verge of tears) during a certain part. I wasn't sure what it was all about but after it happened a couple of times I investigated further and played the DVD once we were safely parked in our driveway. There is about 10 seconds of a couple of Meerkats interacting with each other. And that's the trigger for his outburst. hmm. A sort of Meerkat-phobia. Not sure exactly. The meerkats in the video seem to just be acting pretty playfull. Almost hugging. Is it just an odd animal to him? Anyhow, we've switched DVDs for the time being.

Benjamin on the other hand has been into proudly identifying ever FORD vehicle that he encounters (we currently drive a Ford and will be the owners of 2 Fords upon Don's return). Now, he recently started identifying HONDAs as well (which I've found is unofficially the vehicle of choice in Northern Virginia. In fact, I think every other house in Ashburn has a HONDA ODYSSEY). Ms. Natalie, the boys' babysitter, has a HONDA ODYSSEY (mini van) and so this is where he first spotted the HONDA branding. The only problem is he has a hard time remembering the word "HONDA." He knows the logo and tries to remember the name every time he sees one. It often comes out "Mommy, I see a white CONDA!!" And today he actually spotted a "IGUANA". hmm.

ME: "You saw an Iguana?" (I'm thinking "Here in Northern Virginia?")

BENJ: "Yes, right up there! It just passed us."

ME: "There was an Iguana in that van?"

BENJ: "No, Mommy, an Iguana van."

ME: "You mean, there was a sticker of an Iguana on that van?"

BENJ: "No, an Iguana van."

ME: Upon closer inspection I realized what he was talking about. "Oh, you mean a HONDA?"

BENJ: "Yes, a HONDA!"

We'll see what tomorrow brings.