Max and Roooooovie!

Lately, Stephen's favorite show is Max and Ruby. If you have never seen it, it's a sweet little show about a big sister bunny and her little brother, Max. For the last couple of weeks, Stephen has been in a "Max and Roovie" (that's how he says it, anyway) phase.


I don't know if it works this way at your house or not, but here, the boys tend to obsess about one show at a time. We DVR a few episodes and they watch them over and over and OVER! At Christmas, it was Oswald. Right now, it's the Little Einsteins. But up until last week, we were all about "Max and Roovie."


What cracks me up about "Max and Roovie" is that the show really highlights the differences between little boys and little girls. Ruby is always playing dress up, baking a cake or hosting a tea party. Max, on the other hand, is loud and into everything!

I feel specifically qualified to talk about these gender differences, given that I am a woman that grew up in an "all-girl" house (minus my dad, of course) now living in an ""all-boy" house (minus me, of course). In fact, Sam is the first boy on my side of the family in 30 YEARS!!! To me, it is an amazing blessing. I always wanted boys when I was little. In 1983, when Cabbage Patch Kids were all the rage, I was the only girl in my neighborhood that got a boy doll for Christmas...on purpose!

But I digress....


Either way, my Stephen LOVES this show. And for better or worse, it is starting to influence the way he behaves. In every episode, Max has one word that he uses over and over again. For example, one rainy day, Max wants to go "outside." So in that episode, "outside" is all he says. Over and over and over... In another episode, they are decorating the Christmas tree. With every plastic snake, truck, fake set of Dracula teeth and pinwheel he tucks into the tree, Max cries "beautiful!"


So here's a day with Stephen lately....

First thing in the morning, he looks at the rain and cries, "outside!" I explain that we cannot go outside, since God is watering the flowers. He follows me around the house crying "outside!"

We pass a fire hydrant on the way to the store, Stephen says "beautiful!"

He looks out the window of the car and comments, "outside." I say, "Yes, that's outside. But we can't go outside today. It is raining." He pouts.

We go to get my passport. He checks out my passport "mugshot" that makes me look about 117. He says, "beautiful!" I think, "what a sweet boy!"

As we leave the courthouse, he finds a piece of fuzz on the floor and cries, "beautiful!" I realize maybe the previous comment wasn't such a compliment.

We pull in the garage. He sees his bike and cries, "outside!" Again, I explain about the rain. He follows me around the house crying "outside!" Eventually, I give up and hide in the laundry room.

At lunch, I try to get Stephen to eat. We are working on eating a variety foods...he finds the corn suspect (I assume it's because it is not covered in macaroni and cheese.) I offer him a bite. He politely declines. I offer the bite again. He looks at me in that sweet way only Stephen can and says, "I will not eat them in a box. I will not eat them with a fox. I will not eat them here or there. I will not eat them anywhere."

I sigh and head back to the laundry room....