Super Joey and His Cape

Anyone who remembers Kyle as a little boy is seeing more and more of his personality emerge in Joey. Yes, we're a little scared. We almost hit the panic button when Joey was paging through his alphabet book, pointed to the capital letter "K," announced that it was Kyle, and then pointed to the lowercase "k" and added, "That's Joey!" He's definitely his little sidekick!

Like Uncle Kyle, Joey seems to have been born with an innate obsession with superheros. Like his passion for guns, sticks, and swords, this isn't an interest we're actively helping him develop is any way, but it is what it is. He's been calling himself Super Joey for months, and often (like 20 times a day) will push a pretend red button on his chest or arm that allows him to a) fly into the air; b) shush his mother; or c) vanquish other big and little boys at the park. It's a pretty powerful button. He had also been experimenting for the last several months with Super Joey's attire, and most often would settle on a soft blue baby blanket that he asked me to tie around his neck at least 5 times per day.

Then, the day after Christmas, Uncle Kyle arrived in town with a relic from his past - a special cape that *his* mommy had made him for his 3rd or 4th Halloween. One side was red, with Superman's "S," and the other side was blue, with Batman's logo. Here Kyle is modeling his whole 1980s ensemble ;)



Kyle bequeathed it to Joey, but we were all a little disappointed in his reaction. He didn't want anything to do with it, and refused to allow it to be tied under his chin. I think he may have been a little alarmed at how authentic it looked, and only wanted to view it from a distance. It's been hanging on the little toolbench in his room ever since, but finally, this week, Joey asked me if he could wear the Super Joey cape. Apparently he was ready, at last, to man up to the powerful garment and make it his own!