Superman

I know. Maybe I don’t come across as the type that would put her two kids in Superman costumes. You know, crunchy, pacifist, no TV or licensed characters, etc., etc. But I'm neither as rigid nor as virtuous as I might come across sometimes. As I sit here eating from a 98-cent bag of marshmallows, I don’t quite know how to explain it, but seeing O put on the cape we got from a friend and then the costumes to go with it was different for me somehow. O just loves costumes, and he loves the idea of superpowers and men that fly, and all the parts of the story I’ve dared share with him. I think he thinks of Superman as some sort of powerful do-gooder, there to save the day through kindness and superior abilities. “I saved you from the water!” he says. “I just flew right in and did that – you almost drowned!” Today he said, “There’s a kitty in that tree! Don’t call the fire truck – I’ll fly up and get it down!” Being more shy than N, O is so often in the shadow of his exuberant and socially confident brother, but with his cape on, he has just a little more spring in his step, a little more confidence. He appreciates the extra attention he gets, and he’s quick to add that he can fly when people greet him as “Superman”. He 's worn  just the cape as often as not for weeks, even in Europe, and we've just let him.

We have Superman costumes in both 3T and size S, and today, both boys put them on—one costume too small and the other too big—and we went around the block on their scooters. N was mostly disinterested after the initial excitement about matching. He was more busy exclaiming over the wonders of balloon flowers and counting all the green tomatoes. O, on the other hand, was in his glory, scooting along faster than he ever has before, telling me before bed that night that he’s Superman even in his pj’s, because he can fly in his dreams. Just don’t call him Superboy. He doesn’t like that one bit.

Comments

[Emmie (Better Make It A Double)]

Cass - you could consider making a border of stuff they can mess with - like herbs, or lettuce mix. Our tomatoes are pretty protected, but they are still eating some fairly unripe raspberries. At least in my family, age three has been better than age 2 with this stuff (and late two was much better than early two), but they also have their moments. The other day, N threw a block through a window...

[cass]

So wonderful. I love how he can fly in his dreams :)

On another note, how old do you think kids have to be before they GET that they need to leave the green tomatoes on the plant? Because MissM is really fond of plucking them every time we're not watching. Wishful thinking at just-2, right? J's been coaching her (What do we do when we see green tomatoes? Leave them on the plant.) but I don't know if it'll stick.

[Cheryl]

Oh your little superheroes are too precious!