Go Go Gadget, Sticky Hands!

Do you remember this?

It's the infamous sticky hand! And I'm sure that, at some point in your life, you spent a hard earned quarter in one of those grocery story prize-in-a-plastic-egg machines to get one and proceed to drive your entire family crazy with it (For those of you who opted to save your shiny quarters, think gumball or candy machine but instead of containing sweet treats they were full of those plastic eggs containing random prizes or stickers). My brother, Josh, had a yellow one that I'm pretty sure hit every surface in and resident of my parent's house at least twice in its all-too-short life.

Now, do you remember him?

Why, yes, it's that kooky and well-meaning Inspector Gadget (cartoon star of the 80s/silly but beloved entertainment from my childhood) whose niece, Penny, and dog, Brain, secretly solved all of the cases that he was working on and saved him from the evil Dr. Claw on [many an] occasion. My favorite part about I.G. was when he'd say aloud "Go Go Gadget, arms!" and an extra set of extendable limbs would appear and help him complete the task at hand (Did you not believe me when I said that I adore puns?!).

Well, it turns out that you don't need a plastic toy machine or a time machine to experience either of these blasts from the past. In fact, my baby was born with both; two sticky hands in place of actual hands and two Go Go Gadget arms where normal baby arms should be. The toddler can grab ANYTHING, from ANY distance away, without ANY one seeing or hearing. It's hilarious and frightening all at once. Hilarious because one minute I'm standing in his room holding him, and the next I'm holding him and he's holding two of his favorite stuffed animals, which he has used his extreme wingspan to reach for and those gummy paws to hold in his grasp. It's frightening because danger lurks on every surface in our home; kitchen counter tops, the entire bathroom, the desktop, dresser tops, the fireplace, the floor, the bookshelf, etc. And, as baby proof as our home is, there is always new trouble that wily Sir Grabsalot can find for himself. I appreciate his moments of independence and the initiative he shows and LOVE how curious he is; I suppose that we just have to be more mindful than ever of what he's doing at all times and not take our son's stealth abilities lightly.

The irony? With a face like this . . .

. . . all the little man has to do is point and there are two suckers who-shall-not-be-named (with the initials M and D) waiting to give him the world.