Dum A Day
When Tyler was 2, he had very specific taste in music. He was a big fan of old time cartoon theme songs. (Yes, I have an adorable video of him getting down to the theme from Speed Racer.) When he was older (3-4ish), he had a brief infatuation with the music of Lazy Town; particularly the theme song (again, cute video of him dancing.) Then one day he declared that he "hated music" and was adamant about it...to this day. I can't even turn on the radio in the car without getting an earful if he is with me.
Max is entirely different. From the earliest moments after we brought him home he has shown a strong interest in music and it hasn't wavered. I used to play music with Windows Media Player and he would listen raptly while watching the cool kaleidoscope of colors on my monitor. His dad would put the wireless headphones for our stereo on his head and he would bop to 70s and 80s music. Christmas music would send him spinning in joyful circles. Classical music he would pick up from his Baby Einstein videos and he would hum along...making up his own clever lyrics that consisted of "Dada" and "Mama" in tune with the music.
Now Max has taken his adoration of music to another level. He has discovered the joys of Jack's Big Music Show. He was already familiar (and obsessed) with Laurie Berkner - we've nearly worn out her music video DVD, but with Jack, he has been introduced to a whole bunch of new musical artists and music types. But what I find particularly adorable is how he asks for his favorite show. His vocabulary is still limited, but he can say Jack (or "woof" for Mel the dog)...however, he doesn't say that. Instead he took a phrase from the intro song and sings his request. Jack's friend Mary sings "dum ditty dum de dum de dum day" in the intro and Max has decided that the show should be called "Dum A Day". Yes, it took me a while to figure out what he was asking for. Stupid mommy.
Having "Dum A Day" playing in the background all day long, thanks to Free On Demand and the Noggin channel, has been the norm for a couple months now, until one morning I went into the cable menu and discovered, to my horror, that the show wasn't among the selections. Those with kids in that terrible two stage will understand my desperation to restore the peace. Max didn't understand my lame explanations why his show couldn't be played and I couldn't locate the one Jack DVD we have.
I frantically cruised the On Demand menu trying to find something else that would appease Max and stumbled across the Discovery Kids offerings. One of the shows sounded vaguely familiar from when Tyler was four-ish so I gave it a shot. Tyler had hated the show because it was basically all music and singing. Heh. It should be perfect for Max. So I selected Hi-5 and hoped for the best.
Oh my heck. Max is IN LOVE with this show! Now we've been alternating between Jack and Hi-5 for the last couple weeks or so. And I really appreciate the variety (I love Jack, but I've seen every episode from both seasons at least 10 times each.) For several days Max has raced into the family room first thing in the morning, pointed at the TV and started yelling "Woo!" Woo? I thought he meant "woof" at first and automatically put Jack on, only to get a completely disgusted reaction. He would stomp his foot, make a loud whiny "UhhHHHhhh!" sound and start shouting "Mama!" in a short, gravelly, loud voice. Oh boy. What the hell was "Woo"???
Finally today, Max explained himself. He was watching the one episode of Hi-5 that has been available in the On Demand menu for the last 3 days (why do they do that? Have 6 or 7 then suddenly remove all or almost all for weeks at a time???) and the talented teens (or 20-somethings) in the Hi-5 band were singing about making wishes and suddenly all of them were harmonizing and singing "Woo woo woo wooooo oooooo ooooo ooooo ooooooooooo." Max started singing along. Ohhhhhhh! Duh. Woo. Got it!!
It cracks me up that he won't call these shows by their name but instead picks out phrasing from the music in the show and that becomes the name, to him. It's all about the music, man.
And speaking of his love for music, has anyone been watching this season of America's Got Talent? Max was entranced by this little contestant, Kaitlyn Maher. I had to replay the segment to make the video. He was just as cute the second time through, but he tried to sing along more the first time. I am imagining Max at age 4 and wondering if he might have this kind of talent. It wouldn't surprise me. He certainly sings and hums more than he speaks.
Official Website Video
Max is entirely different. From the earliest moments after we brought him home he has shown a strong interest in music and it hasn't wavered. I used to play music with Windows Media Player and he would listen raptly while watching the cool kaleidoscope of colors on my monitor. His dad would put the wireless headphones for our stereo on his head and he would bop to 70s and 80s music. Christmas music would send him spinning in joyful circles. Classical music he would pick up from his Baby Einstein videos and he would hum along...making up his own clever lyrics that consisted of "Dada" and "Mama" in tune with the music.
Now Max has taken his adoration of music to another level. He has discovered the joys of Jack's Big Music Show. He was already familiar (and obsessed) with Laurie Berkner - we've nearly worn out her music video DVD, but with Jack, he has been introduced to a whole bunch of new musical artists and music types. But what I find particularly adorable is how he asks for his favorite show. His vocabulary is still limited, but he can say Jack (or "woof" for Mel the dog)...however, he doesn't say that. Instead he took a phrase from the intro song and sings his request. Jack's friend Mary sings "dum ditty dum de dum de dum day" in the intro and Max has decided that the show should be called "Dum A Day". Yes, it took me a while to figure out what he was asking for. Stupid mommy.
Having "Dum A Day" playing in the background all day long, thanks to Free On Demand and the Noggin channel, has been the norm for a couple months now, until one morning I went into the cable menu and discovered, to my horror, that the show wasn't among the selections. Those with kids in that terrible two stage will understand my desperation to restore the peace. Max didn't understand my lame explanations why his show couldn't be played and I couldn't locate the one Jack DVD we have.
I frantically cruised the On Demand menu trying to find something else that would appease Max and stumbled across the Discovery Kids offerings. One of the shows sounded vaguely familiar from when Tyler was four-ish so I gave it a shot. Tyler had hated the show because it was basically all music and singing. Heh. It should be perfect for Max. So I selected Hi-5 and hoped for the best.
Oh my heck. Max is IN LOVE with this show! Now we've been alternating between Jack and Hi-5 for the last couple weeks or so. And I really appreciate the variety (I love Jack, but I've seen every episode from both seasons at least 10 times each.) For several days Max has raced into the family room first thing in the morning, pointed at the TV and started yelling "Woo!" Woo? I thought he meant "woof" at first and automatically put Jack on, only to get a completely disgusted reaction. He would stomp his foot, make a loud whiny "UhhHHHhhh!" sound and start shouting "Mama!" in a short, gravelly, loud voice. Oh boy. What the hell was "Woo"???
Finally today, Max explained himself. He was watching the one episode of Hi-5 that has been available in the On Demand menu for the last 3 days (why do they do that? Have 6 or 7 then suddenly remove all or almost all for weeks at a time???) and the talented teens (or 20-somethings) in the Hi-5 band were singing about making wishes and suddenly all of them were harmonizing and singing "Woo woo woo wooooo oooooo ooooo ooooo ooooooooooo." Max started singing along. Ohhhhhhh! Duh. Woo. Got it!!
It cracks me up that he won't call these shows by their name but instead picks out phrasing from the music in the show and that becomes the name, to him. It's all about the music, man.
And speaking of his love for music, has anyone been watching this season of America's Got Talent? Max was entranced by this little contestant, Kaitlyn Maher. I had to replay the segment to make the video. He was just as cute the second time through, but he tried to sing along more the first time. I am imagining Max at age 4 and wondering if he might have this kind of talent. It wouldn't surprise me. He certainly sings and hums more than he speaks.
Official Website Video
Comments
Love ya,
Connie