Lautje the Wizard

Since everyone is a little (OK, massively) sick right now, it seemed appropriate to highlight happier times and funnier photos. Up top is a photo of Lautje the wizard, looking down his nose at those of us untouched by his magical powers. And make no mistake, Lautje is the possessor of many unique magical gifts. For instance, when he touches the buttons on the washing machine, it causes both of his parents to spontaneously yell "No!" This is but one of his many powers.
Lautje is understandably very possessive of his magical instruments. Some wizards have magical hats (such as the one seen above) or even a magic wand (think Harry Potter). Lautje, being a true multi-cultural Texan, has his magical maraca. All he has to do is waive it in the air furiously, and it magically makes a rattling noise. This noise, in turn, can cause a number of peculiar effects: it can make the volume of the TV increase (how very strange...) or even stop people from talking (very odd...). However, it's greatest magical power is that when Lautje beats it against something wooden with all of his might, it unleashes an amazing sound, so powerful that both of his parents rush immediately from whatever they were doing to come take it away from him. Lautje likes to think of this power as "The Parent Finder". He's understandably very proud and possessive of his maraca, since it allows him to always find his parents, and thus sometimes even takes it to bed with him to keep it safe, as can be seen below.

Oma and Opa Visits

Not so very long ago, the Oma and the Opa came to visit, which Lautje always enjoys. Whereas the Mommy and the Daddy encourage him to play by himself and only sporadically smother him with the attention that he obviously feels he deserves, the Oma and the Opa focus all of their attention on him, which is more in keeping with his belief that the world does indeed revolve around his wants and whims. As you can see below, even when he is engaged in something as mundane as standing at the coffee table, Lautje is able to command the rapt attention of both the Oma and Opa (which, Lautje would tell you if he could talk, is as it should be...).
Similarly, when Lautje goes to visit the Oma and Opa, he finds himself again the center of attention. Which only goes to reinforce his belief that the Mommy and the Daddy are neglectful parents who spend entirely too much time with their computers, and not enough time taking him for long walks in the park as the Oma and Opa like to do. For their part, the Oma and Opa don't quite understand how the Mommy and Daddy can say that it is difficult to get Lautje to go to sleep, since as seen below, they have no apparent difficulty with the task...

The Difficult Job of a Mommy

Lautje and the Mommy have a group of friends that they meet up with on a regular basis. The Mommies let Lautje and his partners-in-crime play for a bit, as can be seen below, until they wear themselves out (or try to chew on each other, whatever happens first...).
Then the Mommies take the kids out for a walk, knowing full well that none of the kids will stay awake for very long. The Daddy is reliably informed by Lautje's Mommy that taking long walks with her good friends in places such as that shown below (fall foliage, grape vines, mountains, etc...) and then stopping to have a coffee, chat and eat lunch at a cafe, is part of the difficult job of being a Mommy. The Daddy has a great deal of empathy for the Mommy, considering the terrible job that has obviously befallen her...