rinn wants new toys

My husband is on the floor playing with our son this morning and he says to me “Rinn wants new toys; he’s over these.” Suddenly he’s the baby whisperer, when just moments ago he called me into the living room asking why Rinn’s smile has transformed into this scrunched up expression where he throws his head back and squishes up his face. Its days like these that I find myself rolling my eyes so frequently I’m thankful that the age-old adage “if you keep making that face, it will stay like that forever” is just a harmless lie all mothers tell their children to get them to behave within the parameters of acceptable social behavior.

The truth: we need more baby toys about as much as we need a pet gorilla that throws hand grenades.  I probably look like a real butthead not wanting to buy my baby new toys but seriously, it’s not as if Rinn is sitting around with his chin in his hand, checking the time because his play things now bore him. 

It’s simple, his tastes are evolving.  You throw all of his bath toys in the tub and he’d rather play with the cup we use to dump water on his head. Present him with a stuffed animal and he goes straight for the tag.  And try to get him to sit through an episode of Sesame Street and he throws a temper tantrum because you won’t let him put the remote in his mouth. I’ve never seen him so delighted as when I gave him a pot and some plastic serving spoons.  I’m not so sure he’s in dire need of new baby toys as much as he just really wants to explore the things he sees his dad and I handling.  

Okay so maybe my theory only explains the bath cup and the TV remote since it’s not as if my husband and I are running around the house sucking on the tags of our bed sheets and sweaters and things.  Things definitely get weird around here (see yesterday’s post about casserole, strange, and I'm sorry) and there have been instances where a padded room might have been helpful but we aren’t known for putting things in our mouths that don’t belong there.  I have to assume the tag fixation is pretty common amongst the little ones since someone out there took it upon themselves to design entire toys around it, see:

Not that I would actually spend money on something like that, not when Rinn is equally, if not more happy with the tags on bath towels and blankets. Our new toy problem is easily resolved by making sure the tagged things that already exist around the house are fairly clean, and by introducing Rinn to the tupperware cabinet. Oh the possibilities, the free possibilities.