He doesn't miss a trick
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 08:22PM Today was an Elliott day. I've been picking him up from the sitter's on Tuesdays while Beth takes a class.
It's really fun to go get him and bring him home with me. We read books and sing and do finger plays. We name all the pictures and magnets on the refrigerator. We get out all the toys and have a snack--and two weeks ago, we started a new routine.
You see, Elliott has discovered TV. Two weeks ago, he walked up to the TV, pointed, nodded vigorously then sat down on the couch expectantly. But there was one problem. Grandma had never learned how to turn on the TV in the living room.
You may laugh, but it's more complicated than you would think. For one thing, someone who lives in my house used to like to lay on the floor in front of the television and turn the on/off button on and off with his foot. In fact, he liked to do it so much that the button became firmly fixed in the on position. We got around that problem by plugging the TV into a power strip that has an on/off button on it. That's not the hard part. The hard part is knowing which of the three remotes works for which thingy (TV, cable box, or home entertainment thingy) and in what sequence one must use the various remotes in order to change channels and avoid creating the dreaded blue screen error. (which I have done more than once)
Lucky for me, Sam was home and he was quickly able to find Winnie the Pooh and Elliott was happy. Sam has been working with me and now I pretty much know how to turn on the power, turn on the TV and change the channel--as long as it is already on '003.' If it says 'Video 1' or'Video 2' or 'Color Stream' or any of the other choices, I'm cooked.
Well, apparently, Elliott was paying better attention than I was! Last week, he marched right in, pointed to the BACK of the TV where the powerstrip is attached to the cabinet and picked up the correct remote. Today he did the same thing, but this week I had the camera ready. Little Mr. Business walked into the living room, pointed to the powerstrip, picked up the remote and patiently waited for Winnie the Pooh while I fumbled with the remotes. Once he was sure the TV was really going to work, he crawled up on the couch, ready to watch.
That's not all he did, though. He took a bath (he LOVES taking a bath at Grandma's house!), played with Uncle Sam, ate a man-sized dinner (ham, sweet potatoes, rolls, broccoli, apple and cantelope), read books and generally charmed us all with his cuteness.
John comes to pick him up after work and they stay for dinner. When it was time to get his coat and shoes on and get ready to go home, he climbed up in my lap and layed his sweet little head on me and snuggled. He wasn't quite ready to leave, but Daddy put his coat on and he waved bye-bye. Kisses and whispers of "Grandma loves you" at the back door and he was gone, waving and smiling.
I walked to the window and waved and blew kisses. He waved and threw kisses back.
Sigh. I love that boy!
About five minutes later, John called from the car. He said he hadn't realized that Elliott had seen me waving at the window until he said, "Ga-mo! Ga-mo! Bye-bye!"
I guess I'm no longer Ga or GaGa! I now have a new syllable!
Just call me Ga-Mo.
Reader Comments (8)
Oh little smarty pants with technology already!! Too Cute! How sweet is it that you have your own special Elliott name Ga Mo!
Could he be any cuter? I love this age and I want one of my own.
Oh, I can't WAIT until you both get to be grandmas! It is so.much.fun!!
That is just too sweet! I'm with Rebecca. I want one of those, too.
I think I may be waiting a while ....
Me too! Me too! I want one of my own too!
But I'm afraid I'm with Kim in ON. Its probably going to be a while....
Meantime, can I come have tea at your house next time Elliott is there?
Hey Ga-Mo! That is so cute! I need remedial help to turn on the TV and the DVD player. I never get them right!
Oh! How sweet!!
So precious, he's making us all want to be grandmas.