The Kitty Cat and The Tiger.

Gabriella loves repetition. Our pediatrician assures us that this is perfectly normal and, in fact, beneficial to her development; however, I must be honest: at times, her desire to say and do the same things over and over again seems more like a form of Chinese torture.

She'll flip the light switch on and off for minutes on end, ask you to call the pizza man on her toy cell phone until you cleverly distract her and hide the damn thing, sing the same songs, read the same books, watch the same "Sesame Street" episodes ... all without ever losing enthusiasm. And each time we set out on a walk in the neighborhood, Gabriella calls for "The Kitty Cat and The Tiger." Now, these two random Charlestown landmarks have captured her heart and must be visited on each and every stroller ride or there is (quite honestly) hell to be paid.

PS We're quite aware that the tiger is actually a lion but can't seem to convince Gabriella of that.