Squeak - Pop!

Ben has one of these little toys with buttons, switches, and knobs on it. When pushed, turned or twisted, a little animal will pop out of the top. Ben loves to play with this and while he hasn’t quite been able to get the toys to pop up, loves to swat them back closed.

Tonight, he carried this toy over to the couch where I was sitting, wanting to sit next to me. After I picked him up and sat him down, he started to play. But this time, he seemed quite determined to make the animals pop up. Try as he might though, the stubborn beasts wouldn’t make their appearance. I watched him for a minute then reached over and pressed the button. One small squeak later and out popped the panda bear. Ben of course immediately swatted it closed and tried to press the button himself. No luck. I reached over again and with a squeak & a pop, the bear reappeared.

That’s when Ben had an idea. He reached over and placed his little hand under mine and, guiding it towards the toy attempted to press the button. He knew he couldn’t do it on his own, but with my hand strengthening his, he was quite successful and very pleased with the resulting “squeak – pop!” He looked up at me and grinned from ear to ear. He repeated this several times, each time with just as much pleasure as the first.

It’s the simple things in life that are often the best.

I love being a dad.