Living with Dragons (and Superheroes)

All Adam wanted for Christmas this past year was the DRAGON CASTLE (by Imaginext). So of course Santa Claus brought the dragon castle and lots of dragons and dragon-fighting guys and even the "dragon wagon." Both boys have really enjoyed playing with it. In the past few months they have really gotten into imaginative play.

One day several weeks ago we were shopping and Adam spotted a huge display of merchandise from the new movie, *How to Train Your Dragon. He had no idea that it was all stuff from a movie. He just saw dragons and was totally psyched. He wanted everything he saw. So, I asked my dad to pick out a few dragon things for Adam for his birthday. (Those of you who know my dad know that now Adam has a full wardrobe of dragon-wear... as well as a glow-in-the-dark blanket and pillow set. My dad doesn't know the meaning of the word "few"... but I digress. Love you dad!)

Here are some photos from today:

Adam sleeping last night in his new dragon pajamas, complete with cape and hood (attached by velcro). I stood in his room looking at him and remembering fondly the cute little sleepers he used to wear in his crib. Oh well.

Here's Adam getting ready to play outside in his dragon shirt (which says "Undefeatable" - He LOVES that!). The cape and hood from the pajamas are safety-pinned to his t-shirt.

Here you see the "Dragon Boy" swinging with "Buzz Lighyear." My lovely mother bought Adam the Buzz Lightyear wings for his birthday. In addition to sticking out and scraping my walls, they also have buttons that trigger several "fabulous" Buzz sayings. This morning I took Ray out for an early morning walk and jog around the track and he wore these lovely wings. For most of the rest of the day, the boys played some kind of complex "Dragon and Buzz" game which involved me switching the wings and the cape from boy to boy.

Here's Ray modeling the lovely dragon pajamas that we finally went out and bought for him this afternoon. It became quite clear that one pair of these beautiful pajamas simply would not do for us. You should have heard the fascinating conversation that took place at the store as the boys debated which dragon pajamas Ray should choose. (Yes, there are about half a dozen styles. No, I don't plan to buy any more. I did draw the line when they tried to get me to buy a second set of Buzz wings.)

And this was the end of our day. If you look closely you'll see the boys holding their rosaries. I would dare to wager that they are the only rosary-praying dragons in the State of Ohio.

I can't imagine what tomorrow will be like when I break the news that the dragon pajamas and capes must be washed!

So, I just thought I'd give you a peek into our wacky world today. I live with dragons. This is my calling. I love it, most of the time.