There is nothing more fun, rewarding, and fulfilling than having your child take pride in something you’ve accomplished. That little voice saying “You did it, Mamma!” She’s smiling from ear-to-ear and beaming with genuine feelings for whatever cool thing you did.

So L.A. Toddler and I are commuting home last night and she was chattering away… giving me a brief synopsis of L,A. Daddy’s latest short film, BlondeStar. You see, she’s seen it a few times during the editing process so there are scenes that have made an impression on her. And she’s giving me the quotes from the film and telling me what’s happening in the scene – of course some of the things she’s telling me are out of order – but who cares?

She knows the character’s names and that the film is funny – she’s understanding irony and sarcasm a little bit. I’m impressed!

We get home and tel L.A. Daddy about this over dinner. He’s BEAMING – just so proud of himself and of his ‘super-genious’ daughter – because she likes and remembers his mooovie. His chest is a little puffed and can’t help himself when he asks, “Emma, wanna watch BlondeStar with me?”

(Of course, keep in mind, this is the guy who less than a week ago swore that she would not be watching any more tv due to the link to autism.)

She replies “OK, Daddy… Cinderella?!” “No, honey, my movie”, he replies. “Cinderellaaaaaa!” she wails. “BlondeStar…” he dryly retorts. She looks at him blankly and says, “OK”. He pops in the DVD and as the title appears and theme music begins and loud wail comes from L.A. Toddler. “Noooooooooo!!! Cinderella!!”

She runs to me “Mamma, I don’t like this one!” she’s almost crying and acting downright scared. It’s a comedic film – nothing to be scared of – really! L.A. Daddy looked a little forelorn, so I calm her down and gently remind her that the movie is funny and we’re proud of daddy for working so hard on it. She looks at me like I’m stupid, but stops crying and walks over to L.A. Daddy and hops up on his lap to watch. The smile returns to his face (albeit with a little less ‘beam’). She watches about 2 minutes of the film and starts whining.

To keep her quiet, daddy switches channels and she stops crying. She’s watching Sagwa and life is good again.

So much for the no TV rule, huh?! At least we still have our pride