We've been teaching the boys about animals and the sounds they make. I work with a Russian fellow. Last week I asked him what cats and dogs say in Russian. He humored me and actually seemed to enjoy the conversation (anything that isn't about data
passing is perhaps a relief?). I won't keep you waiting.....in Russian, a cat pretty much says "meow". It sounds a bit more like "miao" but it is still pretty similar to English. Dogs, however, a very different story. They say "guf, guf". So there you have it.
Part II: Yesterday I asked Vlad (yes, that is his real name, we do not protect the innocent in this blog) and I resumed our animal conversation. Turns out that pigs are also very different. In Russian, pigs say "hoo dluh hoo dluh hoo dluh". Well that is my close approximation of the sounds Vlad made.
Other interesting things
Fisher-Price must intentionally make toys that have 1 essential part that will get lost simply due to poor design. Here's the cute
activity toy (Laugh and Learn Music Table) Santa brought the boys. Hi Kevin, or quick Photoshop facsimile thereof. The table is cute and has lots of neat features. A laptop computer, a mini-keyboard, a telephone, and a flip book. So cute that you could easily overload on the cuteness if it weren't so darn cute. See cute Kevin playing there at the activity table? Hi Kevin.
Here's a snap of the laptop. Cute, right? Kids can learn about colors, letters, music, etc. The tunes are well-known ones. It has a nice mix of classical tunes and children's tunes. There are a few that FP must have made up as they are short little tunes that are really just the sound/music equivalent of filler.
Here's the phone. And here is where FP's dark-side becomes apparent. See the cute little handset? Of course, it's cute and has a rattle inside and is the perfect size for wee hands so the boys love it, love to hold it, chew on it, play with it and then drop it where ever they happen to have toddled off with it in their hot little fist. The handset just sits on the phone. Just. Sits. That is, when a wee boy isn't mouthing or playing with it and then dropping it where ever the cat can start to knock it around. This thing is doomed. Everyone can see what will happen to this little handset. It will meet an untimely demise. Either it will disappear to the place where all small parts and toys go. Or, it will end up flattened, smashed into a zillion, trillion, non-repairable bits by an unsuspecting and immediately saddened parent.
As I type....there are a couple hundred parents out there who should probably write down the item number of this product and photograph the handset because down the road....they'll be looking to buy a replacement (me included). And someday, when Fisher-Price files their revenue numbers...the column that tots up the $$$ they made from add-on parts that parents have to buy for replacement purposes....well, this little number will add significantly to that column.
Don't get me wrong. It's a great toy. We like it. The boys like it. It inspires them to stand and move. They can play with it today and grow with it as they learn English, shapes, colors and even Spanish. As I mentioned, so far we've only used some light Russian in addition to English. But there it is. A small cute part. Not attachable. And so darn cute that it's the one thing the boys zero on when they approach the table.
Of course, if it goes missing...will they REALLY care? They'll never notice, right? Ah, but Murphy's law (or Doherty in this case) says that the cute little handset will go missing at that exact moment when the boys will notice that it is gone AND they will be able to speak, even in broken baby English. "Mommy, where did the purple phone go?" or "Mama, phone?"
What do I say to that? "Technology Heaven?" It is a phone after all. Or "Toy Heaven". If I say "I don't know", will that undermine my knowledge base in the boys' eyes? What if they ask me to find a replacement? Hello Fisher-Price Replacement parts hotline.
I recently ordered some Fisher-Price replacement parts. To their credit, they were helpful, knowledgeable, friendly, etc. The parts came quickly (quicker than they said) and were perfect. I'd order replacement parts from FP again and probably will.
Guess how many photos one typically takes of Kevin before a suitable(not blurry) one is attained? Today it was 15 and then I gave up. Our boy Kevin is smart enough to know that the red light means a flash. So, he closes his eyes when he sees the red light on the camera. I turned the flash off this AM and he still closed his eyes or squinted. He's got a great smile. When the camera is off. Trust me.
Here are some more photos of the boys Book Nook. As you can see, Kevin is a fan of the Book Nook.
