A few things really grab Lumpyhead’s attention. The first time he watched Sesame Street, for example, he was riveted. He stood stock-still and stared at the TV for a good 20 minutes straight. He has a similar reaction to the Monsters, Inc. opening credits, what with the jazzy music and the flying doors and such.
For full-on hilarity, however, we turn to the first few minutes of Ice Age. We tivoed it from a Spanish language network and never watch it beyond the first five minutes. But when that squirrel-like animal goes bouncing down the mountainside, Lumpyhead is guaranteed to laugh out loud. (The promo for the Univision version of Deal or No Deal that comes on before the movie amuses me every time, so maybe I shouldn’t be making fun of the boy for finding something funny after he’s seen it seven times before.)
Why is slapstick so awesome to a one-year old? I admit that we usually laugh when Lumpyhead falls down, but what is it about some flailing animal thumping down a hill that Lumpyhead finds so fricken hysterical? How does he already know that is funny?
Yesterday, I came home to Lumpyhead intensely focused on Aaron Neville singing “I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon” with Ernie. We’re usually suckers for Lumpyhead’s every whim (Lumpyhead started rocking out when he heard Stevie Wonder over a store’s PA system, so Bump bought a Stevie Wonder album. Lumpyhead was transfixed by the music in the movie Ray, so we got the soundtrack.), but Bump is drawing the line at an Aaron Neville CD.
After the expressed preferences for Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles, I considered introducing Lumpyhead to Ronnie Milsap, just to see if it was the blind pianist thing that Lumpyhead found so captivating.
I’m not sure if Lumpyhead really likes Aaron Neville, or if he just recognizes him from the Little People video that came with his farm playset. (Yes, Aaron Neville sings on the Little People video. “He was available?” is always Bump’s sarcastic reaction to this fact.) Bump may not be the only one to find this horrifying, but I’m going to cop to liking Aaron Neville. Lumpyhead may get that new CD after all.
So forget the Ronnie Milsap experiment. With the arrival on the scene of Aaron Neville and the constant cries for Elmo (“Meh-mo! Meh-mo!”), I’m beginning to think you have to be a black man to win the boy’s favor.
8 comments:
And I'm beating you all to the "but Elmo is red!" comment.
My Son The Cop used to rock out to the closing theme music on Sesame Street. I wonder if there's a connection.
Okay, skip the solo stuff and introduce Lumpyhead to the hard stuff--older Neville Brothers, the Meters, etc. Drums, horns, funky guitar--what more could a toddler want?
Now I can't get that song out of my head
Aaron Neville is dead to me ever since I watched Horatio Sands parody him on SNL. Don't let Lumpyhead watch that clip or it will ruin things for him too.
Well, I'm not a black man, but I can sing the whole "I'd like to visit the moon" song. It drives my kids crazy, but I'm counting on Lumpyhead to be captivated. My vision is pretty bad without my contacts, so that has to count toward the blind thing, right?
Sesame Street runs that Aaron Neville song pretty often, and one of my kids always tries to touch the big mole on his face. Lovely.
I like Aaron Neville. I even like that song.
We have some Neville Brothers stuff on CD which Lumpyhead may borrow anytime.
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