The Boys Are Back In Town

by Matt

I finally did it.

I caved.

We recently found out we're having a third girl (cash & alcohol donations will be accepted; see future posts for donation sites/fundraisers). So after realizing that I will have no son to pass down my Thor action figure, I brought them up out of seclusion, for my girls.

When I was a kid, I would have killed for a Thor action figure. To have him fight Loki, or to have an Iron Man toy fight the Mandarin was a dream for me. Most of my toys were GI Joe, He-Man, Transformers, & Star Wars. And I loved all of these. But I was really into comics, and I longed for a Spider-Man toy that came with real webbed arms.

In the late 90's & early turn of the century (doesn't that look weird?), you saw more action figures that looked like the actual comic books. My then-girlfriend, & eventual wife, was very accepting and helped my pursuit of a childhood dream. But after I got a decent amount of these things, I realized "What the h@11 am I going to do with these things?" And like most parents, I thought I would force them on my kids.

I never really thought to bring them up for my two daughters. They love the princess/Dora/playhouse toys. They got a Disney castle for Christmas that will bring them hours of joy. You'd think that being a stay at home dad, would change some gender role perceptions that I had. But I guess I was secretly waiting to see if I had a son, so I could make him like the things that I like.

Once I tossed them on the carpet, and explained who they were (think of the end of "Toy Story 3", with the same amount of weeping), they started to play with them. L picked up Captain America's shield, and slung it at Doctor Doom. E picked up Iron Man, and flew him in the air while making laser sound noises.

They LOVED them.

Iron Man & friends on a bender

I don't know why it took me so long to bring these up. My girls know Captain America's theme song. L needs to hear a Batman story every night before she goes to bed. E loves the Superman doll that watches over her every night. Kids love toys, regardless of the gender. Maybe that's why I always wanted an Easybake oven as a kid. Now that I think about it, that may have had something to do with my current occupation.


They love their new toys. They can now see Superman cooking in their playhouse, just like they do in their real house.


L just said, "I love your super hero dolls, Daddy."

...

Action figures.

They're CALLED action figures.