MomoCon!

Yay, MomoCon!!! It's a smallish, completely free anime convention held at Georgia Tech. We didn't get to spend much time there cause we're always late leaving the house, but we still had lots of fun. Our overall impression was: Crowded! There were lots of people there and not enough space for them. Great costumes were everywhere. A-chan was especially impressed with some of the more intricate dresses, though the first words she said about the con itself were, "where stormtroopers, mata?". The troupe of young girls all wearing bunny hats also made a big impression on her.

She had asked to wear her "pretty pink Mei dress" so I got her all dressed up as Mei (Yay!!) and she got several complements and some 'soo cute!' comments. It was unexpectedly frigid so she wore some pants underneath the dress and her Totoro turtleneck onesie to keep warm. To complete the outfit she carried around Chu and Sho Totoros (that her godmother L made for her for christmas) in a purple backpack. I think the thrill of wearing a backpack like a big kid was a huge thing for her. And because I go overboard like a crazi-woman we all had really pretty bentos, but A-chan's was a Totoro and soot sprites! For pictures of the bentos go to http://bentoanarchy.blogspot.com

The squeaky shoes were only half squeaky cause I'd broken one the day before, so she didn't make as much noise as usual. But we also didn't have to worry about her walking into the video rooms or panels and disturbing everyone, so the half squeaky was okay. The Anime Music Video room was quite a hit, we spent probably an hour in there watching these awesome videos. The best part was that A-chan loved them. (We had tried to watch some at AWA last year and she drug us from the room, screaming at the top of her lungs) She recognized several of her favorite characters in some and enjoyed it, did a lot of giggling.

The Dealer's room was pretty small at MomoCon, but it was awesome all the same. We thought about getting A-chan a soft Mei doll, but didn't want to spend $75 on it. I did get to meet the artist who draws one of my favorite addicting web manga, Red String, which was too cool! I bought her manga and the guy at the booth next door recommended I get her to sign it, which she was sooo nice to do, w00t! A-chan wanted the first Strawberry Marshmallow manga (her current favorite anime series) which the really nice guy gave her for free when we bought 2 manga for me (Imadoki #4 & 5) and one for Ketu.

And last, but not least she has a new mascot! Meet Purple Mochi, an incredibly cute little bean bag that the guy at the Stubbychubby booth offered to let her have. She was sooo cute! When he said she could have it, she started pulling more off the table saying "mata needs, dada needs" lol. We put ours back, but will probably buy some soon from there website. She even did a little bow and said 'thank you'! They also had awesome pillows that I wanted. We definately met some very nice people and learned that the cute toddlers are the rulers of the world.

Repetition

One learns through repetition. But is there such a thing as too much repetition? A-chan seems to just get stuck on something and I am generally put through my paces as we repeat an action over and over and over. And over. I know that she is having fun and I love to play, especially the silly fun games that she invents. However it's also beginning to drive me batty sometimes.

The game yesterday was having her Satsuki doll run (be moved by me) all over her train table calling (as close to the voice in the movie as I can get) "Mei? Where are you, Mei? Mei, wake up!" Then as soon as Mei wakes up (stood up by A-chan), she immediately went to sleep again and we started over with the searching and calling. Now if this had only happened a couple of times it wouldn't have been so bad. But we continued the game for almost an hour. My attempts to get her to continue on with the scene instead of running reruns were completely ineffective. Ketu's attempts backfired with her asking to read the book and then minutes later going back into the routine. I was soooo tempted to hide the dolls today. But she seemed to have forgotten the game already.

Another example: a big floor puzzle that I have to help her put together every morning. It's not so bad, really, and it's a nice time for me to spend with her. But I can only take so much of doing the same puzzle. I feel bad complaining about it now, though. Am I a horrible mother because it's driving me nuts? Or does every mother feel the same way and that is why toy consumerism is as healthy an industry as it is? (please, a new toy will make it all better. something new and different, anything, please?)

Invasion of the dolls

Yep, this holiday we were invaded by dolls! Disney dolls, crocheted dolls, fisher-price dolls - the cuteness is terrifying. Our favorite ones were the hand made dolls. L crocheted a Chu Totoro and a Sho Totoro for A-chan and they are so incredible! My mother crocheted her a Hello Kitty doll with changeable dress and ear decoration which is just too cool. A-chan was delighted with all of the above.

The Totoro dolls got to go on a trip to see M,F & E and she hugged them the entire time we were in the car (an hour each way). Hello Kitty got to go to the grocery store and ride on the big girl cart with A-chan who had to make sure that I remembered to belt Hello Kitty in tight. The Fisher-price castle-dwellers and the Disney princesses are enjoying life in the castle together (or alternatively on the windowsill where they can see the deer who come by every day.)

And don't forget the R2 figure that Santa left for her...he's always saving the princesses, the poor prince never gets a chance! Ketu had to deactivate the button that made R2 make sounds cause they scared A-chan (why did they have to put the screaming on there?!). Now A-chan has Han Solo, Chewbacca, a Stormtrooper and R2. Not sure who's next, maybe 3PO. In any case her play table is a multicultural tangle of dolls, that's for sure.