The Other Side of Webcams

Ok. Here's my thing: we all know what webcams are associated with. This post isn't about any of that. Lets just start out with that said. I'm not even going to address the debates I've heard of moms in our community about whether or not they are safe in "the home." We will re-evaluate ours when any of our kids is even slightly computer savvy.

Having said that, there is one thing our two 'big kids' are really into right now, and that is spies. Spying, spy gear, finger prints, snooping, secrets, etc etc.

So, this weekend, during that time between dinner and bedtime when there are sometimes a few hours of time to kill and lots of toddlers on hand, we have devised a new hobby. J and SA call it "spy gear cameras."

It goes like this. Set up a skype phone call in the baby room before the girls go to bed. Then everyone gathers around the computer in the living room, cackling and saying silly things to the babies, while the babies say and do silly things back. Sometimes they mimic head bobbing dance moves too.

Here the kids and Daddy set up the call.

OR it can go like this: set up a one way skype call and then just observe what the babies do when they are alone, before going to sleep. Then we see and hear them, but they don't hear us. (you kind of feel like a behavioral scientist doing some kind of a study in this kind of spying.) 
When we say goodnight, we tuck them in, and they are both tucked in, with their pillows and blankets. It's interesting to watch how long it takes each of them to decide to pop up out of their little nests and say "hellow" to each other. It was surprising to see how much passing and trading of objects went on between cribs. Apparently the babies have lots of games they play at night, before bed. Throwing things to the floor and saying :"uh oh," to each other etc.

And also, lots of cute peek-a-boo. These two pictures show the little hide and pop motion. Pretty cute.

But actually, the real fun started not spying into the baby room at bedtime, but on Sunday night, when we were having company. SA and Cupcake were very excited to meet the significant other of our friend Lea. Everyone wanted the first look at the guy, but we didn't want the kids to have their little faces pressed up to the window as the couple approached the front door. We were trying to play it cool for the sake of the company.

So.. of course, the logical thing to do was set up a skype call with a computer screen facing through our front window, and out to the street (this is less obnoxious than faces in the window, right?) Which the boys quickly did. That's when the real fun started. I think the kids felt like Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget, witnessing everything from HQ, instead of the front lines. The were going NUTS. When the happy couple finally drove up, there was no containing the squeals of the "spies."

Anyway... yeah.. this is the kind of thing we do on Sunday night.