Toy Story 3

Back on July 4, we took Tai to his first movie at a theater to watch "Toy Story 3." The quick review: Very good, but surprisingly violent, way more than Toy Story 1 and 2, both of which Tai has seen dozens of times. Tai didn't last through the entire movie, although he did get to see his favorite character, Buzz Lightyear, perform his signature line, "To infinity, and beyond!"

Fortunately, Thu took Tai out of the theater about 3/4 of the way through, right before the movie turned very adult and the characters escaped a horrific death, and I do mean horrific.

Much in the way that I view Up, I'm not sure what kids get out of a movie like this, since to me a lot of the meaning and enjoyment is not really meant for kids. To me, TS3 is about growing up—and now that I'm a parent—about letting your kids grow up. It's about what we do with childhood memories as we get older, and how we help children create their own unique memories.

In a more literal sense, the entire Toy Story trilogy is about the relationship between children and their toys. In that regard, it's really fun to see Tai bring Piggy to life the way he does, and now Buzz and Woody too. To think about that chapter of life, and that part of Tai's imagination, giving way to teenage years, and cars and girlfriends and eventually college, can be sad. And that's part of what made the movie so sad and true.

Of course, to think about the future is also hopeful. But for now, we can slow down and wait for those years to come.