Like Father...Like Sons

Though David is absolutely obsessed when it comes to his Xbox 360 (I don't get it, how interesting can war games actually be? Even if you do get to converse "live" with your opponents on the headset), thus far Ashton hasn't shown that much interest in playing himself.
Then David picked up a Transformers game he thought Ashton would be interested in and now all I see is this....


(Note the transformer action figures which, according to Ashton, must also be present during the game)
Besides sitting mesmerized on the couch, he also finds it necessary to stand on the coffee table when the action sequences become particularly intense. And he is actually pretty good for just picking it up. Transformers is not necessarily a child-oriented game and he is passing levels already.
Ashton has totally caught the bug, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm glad for him to find something else he enjoys and that helps me when I am trying to work during the day and I don't have someone to watch the boys, but....I already feel bad enough about the amount of TV he watches and this isn't really an upgrade. I want to try and help him transition to outside play with friends more because he is so shy around strangers and I'm thinking this isn't a step in the right direction.
Luckily, school starts soon and maybe that will kick him of this current obsession.

So, on to Zander. Though Z is all about copying his Dad whenever he can, in this particular case, I suppose it is more Like mother, like son (though David does sing as well).
At nearly 15 months, I am certain Z is going to be a singer. He is already like my little meadowlark now. From the time he was a newborn, he has always done this little coo when he sleeps. I've always wanted to get it on tape, but I'm afraid to wake him up because he is such a light sleeper. It is like a sing/sigh every time he exhales. He does it to this day, sometimes loudly and sometimes it is very quiet but it is nearly always present.
He loves to mimic us when we sing and is showing signs of a decent pitch. Ashton loves to sing too, but his pitch needs some work as he doesn't seem to have a natural talent for it whereas in Zander's case I can see it forming already.
The funniest is when he is in the car, to entertain himself he often does a singsong moan over and over again and if we have the radio on it seems like he tries to match it with the song.
Even his tantrums have a song-like quality...not a pleasant song mind you, but a melody nonetheless. Zander, like Ashton, is incredibly dramatic (gee I wonder where they get that from?) and so even the smallest slight on my part-i.e. I don't give him the highly expensive electronic device he wants tear apart and play with-he will revert to a full blown tirade.
This is how it usually unfolds, and I do feel slightly like a bad mom by taking pictures of my distraught son who is obviously not amused by the camera, but....it happens so often I'm on to his act.
So, first comes the vulnerable and defeated back against the wall maneuver complete with longing eyes:


Then, when that doesn't work, he collapses to the floor into his singsong wail...


Finally, after I still haven't caved, he resorts to the smouldering whimper performed in face plant position and coupled with the I-refuse-to-look-at-you stare, as such:



All this, as I said, is executed with a remarkably musical quality which has convinced me that though his thick, stout form will probably land him on the football team as a linebacker, I believe the world will also be charmed by his musical stylings that have grown and developed from this very young age. Which pleases me very much :)
...By the way, he usually does win me over with the face-plant whimper and we usually find a compromise on a play toy that suits us both-that is, until the next hour when we repeat the entire episode again.