Tikki Tikki Tembo and Chang

One of Thomas's new favorite books is Tikki Tikki Tembo. One thing that stands out is how much the two main characters in the book, Tikki Tikki Tembo and his little brother Chang, resemble Thomas and especially Charles (and how the old man with the ladder resembles Sarah). Part of it is from the Indian features they inherited and part of it is from their unfortunate haircuts. One tough thing in Africa is getting these guys a decent haircut. They've had the Dumb and Dumber look going on for far too long. Perhaps there is an ex-hair stylist grandmother who can give a tip or two.

In a follow-up to the last post about food, this one is about other preferences, habits, general likes and dislikes which you're bound to find out if you have a visit from the dynamic duo.

Thomas loves books. More than one adult has thrilled about his attraction to them. Unfortunately the same can't be said about Charles who likes to anger his brother by stealing them away to eat them or tear them up but he's improving.

Thomas's favorites right now:

1.) Where the Wild Things Are (He enjoys saying rumpus and likes Max's sailboat).
2.) Goodnight Moon (It was his favorite for a very long time but it's moving down on the list)
3.) Goldfish book (he has re-named their pet turtle Marilyn, Otto)
4.) Planes at the Airplane (a book his mama bought him in D.C.)
5.) Any Pooh Book (and he has several)
6.) Piggley Wigglet (out of little Sarah's childhood collection)
7.) Ferdinand (I'm glad he's come to like this one)
8.) Sneetches (He actually just likes the scary story about the green pants with nobody in them)
9.) Green Eggs and Ham (He enjoys the train, tunnel, and boat...and eating the green eggs and ham)
10.) Thomas and the Shooting Star (He tore up his other favorite Thomas the Tank books)

I'm sure he'll discover some new favorites from his spoiled cousins in which case, we will simply borrow (wink, wink).


Charles's favorite toys

1.) The Shopping Cart (His Great Aunt Alice made a mission out of making sure she bought one for Thomas when we were in Lisbon because Andrew loved it when he was small. It took a little work, but she found one in Lisbon and it's been the most popular toy and now is a bit problematic because the boys fight over it. I'm about to do another repair job with super glue and packing tape-it's the most used of all their toys).
2.) The fridge farm (it's rarely on the fridge with pieces turing up in the oddest places).
3.) Any of the various baby toys around.
4.) Dirt. (Sarah's potted plants usually have a trail of dirt around them and often a baby with a beard of mud and a mouthful of soil.)
5.) Electrical sockets (he's troublesome and is the type of kid that baby-proofing was invented for, then he'll thwart it. He will go wherever you don't want him to be: traffic, deep water, electrical hazards, glass-covered floor, a hot stove, etc. --seriously! Hide your smidgets and valuables.)
6.) Basically anything his brother is playing with, he likes. He is quite fond of pounding on the piano and beating the guitar.