The Sandlot!

I was an athlete growing up . Decent at my game, ball was never my whole life as I had a revolving heart of creative passions as well. Having an older brother, who I admired tremendously, and who was an artist, perhaps influenced me in the arts in ways I would not have been otherwise.
Despite wanting to be the creative type, and perhaps some of that was, is, within me, anyone who knew me then would describe me as an athlete. The thrill of the game certainly does reside within me.

Todd was an athlete growing up, as well, and from what I understand, a very good one. He, unlike myself, remains to be a very good athlete!!
The combination of our talents always led me to assume we would breed athletes of some kind.

This is not to say I would not welcome with open arms the non-athlete. I would be proud if they were mathletes, or scientists. If they chose theater or the arts. I would be proud. If they were bookworms and found their way to Harvard. They could be who they want but, admittedly, I assume there will be an athlete, or three, in the bunch.

So, when Ryder's first love became his guitar and his interest in classic rock was the only thing he talked about, I was thrilled and surprised.  His two, now three year old, knack for the guitar seems to be beyond his years and though I encourage his strumming I have not one clue how to play and am unable to help him along.

Anyway, I wondered when the baseball and sports interest would come into play. I wondered if it would at all. We started them in an introduction to sports class, which they seemed to enjoy, and we certainly make clear that we are Phillies fan, particularly as they tried, unsuccessfully, to be repeat World Champions. But, it seems that the movie The Sandlot was the catalyst for the love of America's pastime.

After watching this adorable flick, baseball became their game of passion.  In addition they also learned to use the word "shit," which resulted in soap in the mouth.  Chase and Ryder love to re-enact this movie choosing scenes that involve both the baseball and "the Beast!"    Ryder, the costume man, also loved to dress like Benny.   He still does.

I always thought it would be the channel surfing from Flyers to Phillies to Eagles to Golf and back again that would trigger their love for sports.  Instead it was a movie.....at least it was one I grew up with.

Super Heroes!

A few months ago Chase and Ryder had a thing for tying their blankets around their necks and throwing their arms straight out in front of them pretending to fly. They even went so far as to have alter egos.
I found this interesting because at that point they had had no exposure to superheroes of any kind, evidence that some things are just innate. Girls want to meet Prince Charming long before they get to know Cinderella and boys want to don capes and shoot webs from their wrists even before they learn who Peter Parker is.
This phase, as most things with toddlers, lasted a bit and eventually faded into the next obsession.

Until now.

Last week the boys decided that they wanted to see the movie Spiderman. I am not sure where this idea came from.
As a party favor from a boy in their class they received a light-up Spidey. When you squeezed the trigger the light tubes that came out of his arms spun around. This toy captivated them so much so that the batteries ran out almost instantly. Maybe the spinning light toy sparked their Spidey interest, maybe it was a camp friend, maybe it was turning superhero age appropriate. Either way, suddenly they were begging for Spiderman instead of High School Musical.

Spiderman 2.1, whatever that means, was on TV the other night. I caught it about 20 minutes in and recorded it. This, an incomplete version of Spiderman 2 loaded with commercials, was how Chase and Ryder came to know of the friendly neighborhood Spiderman!
Spoiled children of the electronic age that they are however, they took no issue with missing the first half-hour of the movie, nor with missing the original, but the fact that there were commercials sent them into instant whine mode the minute the Geico Caveman showed his face. Despite the fact that the caveman is so annoying it makes me want to throw a toddler tantrum, their disapproval was with the break in their viewing pleasure, something On Demand viewing has deprived them of.

Anyway, I went to Target to get a birthday present. While there I noticed the Spiderman 1 and 2 DVD's were on sale. So, I bought them both. As a gift for me kids. My three year olds. These PG-13 movies. Parent of the year, clearly.

And now we have seen both movies about a hundred times. Chase, who does have a tendency to get scared of things: loud noises, life-sized Sesame Street Characters, fireworks (at least the first time around), or our first hibachi experience, somehow watched all of the semi-violent Spiderman 2 without being scared only to jump in my arms whimpering when, in Spiderman 1, Peter Parker gets the fate-changing spider bite. So far, the hero vs nemisis battles have spawned lots of questions like "is spiderman nice?" And "is Doc Ock a little bit nice?
And,though these movies have taught the boys words like punch and fight and nemesis and evil, I am grateful that they see Spiderman as a hero and walk around pretending to shoot silk from their wrists and attempting to scale walls rather than emulating Doc Ock or the Green Goblin. And, they are learning a little something about good vs.evil, in that good wins, always. Every time. At least that is what I am teaching them.

I constantly remind them that the movie is make-believe, that in real life there are no human spiders and that people can't fly even with a cape. I tell them that fighting is bad, and ask them why they think Spiderman is a hero which gets them pondering how saving lives and fighting crimes is noble.

Everybody wants to be believe in Super Heroes! Hell, most of wish we could even be one. Three year olds are no different!!

Re-Pete's Dragon

When I was a kid I loved the movie Pete's Dragon. My sister and I watched it all of the time. We had recorded it onto a VHS tape from the television as only you could in the early 80's. It was on the same tape as Grease, another favorite of ours, and right after Danny and Sandy fly off in their car the music changed over to the start of Pete's Dragon. We watched this double feature so often the tape began to wear.

I had not thought much about Pete's Dragon too often once I stopped watching it on repeat.

Amy had bought the DVD of our childhood movie recently. She thought her girls would like it, or perhaps she just hoped they would so she could get a break from High School Musical. My understanding is Amy liked it better than the girls.

Recently the boys have discovered Puff the Magic Dragon. Beth and Dave kindly bought Turner (and his brother's) a library full of wonderful children's books. Included in the selections was Puff, the story and audio CD. We read it once, then I sang it, then we played the CD. Instantly the boys were hooked and between their questions about Jackie Paper and what he is pointing to (the lighthouse) and why he stopped believing in Puff, they would sing the song and giggle.

On Sunday we went to Amy's house to celebrate Madden's 2nd Birthday. Since you can't get much past their perceptive eyes, and DVD's are amongst Ryder's favorite things to play with, it did not take long before they noticed a DVD with a dragon on it. He assumed it was Puff the Magic Dragon. I went on to explain how it was actually Pete's Dragon, Elliott, and though they seemed to get that it was a whole new dragon, they still insisted on watching it. And so, we borrowed Pete's Dragon from the Benjamin's. Much to my surprise they were not scared of any parts of the movie and much to my delight they love the movie. They insist on watching it any chance they get, and despite watching it way too many times in only five days, I personally love watching it again. With today's movies being computer animated and digitally enhanced, it is fun to watch an "old fashioned" children's fantasy movie with real actors and real songs. Once I watched Pete's Dragon again I realized how little I rememebered, but still loved it as if I was five.