The Bub in the Belly

Ryan absolutely loves this. Have a look! The Youtube video is about 5 and a half minutes long.



This was the very first performance that we did with this theatre. After this video was taken, Ryan tucked all the puppets inside, drew the curtains closed and gently patted the puppets to sleep, telling me with a finger to his lips, "Ssshhh". We then switched off the lights and left the room. But not for long! Ryan went back inside to check on the puppets and I ended up doing the puppet show for the remainder of the alphabet, all the way to "Z". Then it was the same routine - kissing and hugging the puppets and tucking them in, closing the curtains and pat pat pat to sleep, with a "Ssshhh" on our lips. After switching off the lights and leaving the room, he tried to get it going for the third time and was pretty upset when Richard told him that the puppets were all asleep and there was no more show for the night!

It was very heartwarming to see Ryan's reaction to the puppets - you can see how affectionate he is towards them in this video. In subsequent performances, he was even more affectionate. He came up close, fondled them, patted them and took them gently in his hands for close-up kisses and hugs. It was incredible to see how he accepted, without question, that the puppets were real. Such beautiful childlike innocence, with such a rich capacity for fantasy and creative imagination.

When I showed Ryan the video the next day, he chuckled and giggled throughout the whole thing and insisted that I replay it over and over agin.

In case you're wondering - we bought this puppet theatre sometime last year at a Takashimaya Toy Fair. It came with two puppets, we bought extra puppets although we couldn't find all the puppets to make up the  complete set of 8 puppets. We do have some other (non-Sesame Street) puppets which can be called upon to take on other acting parts!