Times Have Changed

When Spence was rounding the corner of two, he fell in love. With Thomas the Tank Engine. Brad and I soon became scholars in everything Thomas and found ourselves shelling out serious cash for the trains and tracks, memorizing every song (Harold The Helicopter!) and singing to ad nauseum, and even visiting the REAL Thomas one windy day at the tracks.

For Hannah, her love came in the forms of the fish and the ogre, or Nemo and Shrek. She was OBESSED, so much that we even sprayed her hair green and made her into the cutest little ogre for Halloween one year. Yes, she stuck out sorely with all the other princesses and fairies, but she loved it.

For Sienna, it has always been Dora. She has loved that little adventurer and her silly monkey friend from birth and will still, at almost five years old, request Dora if she finds herself in front of the TV without her siblings.


And then there's Austin. He flirted briefly with a love of Baby Einstein but quickly grew tired of everything on TV. He hasn't been like the others who would sit quietly for 25 minutes and watch a show. His love is music. But not just any music. No Laurie Berkner or Disney Soundtrack will cut it for him. My boy is all about the Gaga.

Lady Gaga.



Yep, my almost-two-year-old is in love with an inappropriate pop star.

I don't really know how it happened. It's not like I went looking for such a thing. He was enthralled with the Black Eyed Peas for awhile and we had our fair share of Boom Boom Pow blaring over here but then suddenly, the Peas lost their power and he was under the spell of all things Gaga.

I blame Pandora.

The kids have their own station on there and we added artists like Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift and then one day, Bam! Out comes the Gaga and Austin was TRANSFIXED. His little legs started dancing, his fists started pumping and that was that. We had lost him to the girl with the disco stick.

And can I just say? I do love me some Gaga. Her music makes me want to dance, dance, dance but even I, as a great lover of music and movement, am growing tired of the constant loop of Bad Romance in our house. It's literally the first thing he asks for in the morning and the last thing he says at night, and that is saying something because the little fella only posses about 7 words, one of them being "Gaga." He says it with his eyes wide, his hands turned up as if to say "where is that magical friend that I love so much?"

I'm distressed.

I was talking to Jen about planning a birthday party for the cousins since they were born a day apart. I was thinking of a cute farm theme with a pink pig cake for Lily and a cow cake for Austin. Now I'm thinking I'll have to plan an NC-17 party for my two-year-old. I could get mini disco balls for the treat bags and we could play Pin the Pasties on the Pop Star.

It will be delightful. Don't you hope I invite your kid?