It All Started With Elmo

Sometime over the summer, we took Tiny and Buba on their first trip to Toys R Us. We had a gift card, so we went just to browse and see if there was anything the kids might like. And the kids definitely saw something they liked- Elmo Live. This Elmo talks, sings, tells jokes, laughs, and blows kisses. This was their first exposure to Elmo, and Buba and Tiny could not get enough. And the best part was when we turned on about 10 of these Elmos all at once. Buba and Tiny went nuts- smiling, laughing, waving their little hands. They had the best time just sitting in the stroller watching Elmo Live perform over and over and over. But our gift card didn’t even come close to covering the cost of this magic Elmo, so we left empty handed.

Not long after the Toys R Us trip, I found a Sesame Street book (Cookie See! Cookie Do!) in a box of items passed on from my sister-in-law. I put it out in one of the kids’ book bins, and it wasn’t long before Tiny discovered the book and found Elmo inside. (“Eeemo! Eeemo!” she cried.) Although she definitely recognized Elmo, not knowing the names of the other characters, she started calling them Eeemo too. So as we read the book together, I pointed out the other characters, telling Buba and Tiny, “This one is Big Bird. And this one is Cookie Monster.” And of course, it wasn’t long before they knew all of those characters by heart and realized that they are also on Buba’s diapers.

While I resisted buying anything associated with characters of any kind for so long, I suddenly couldn’t resist. Tiny and Buba get so excited when they see any character from the Sesame Street gang, that I just had to pick up a few items while doing a little holiday shopping. So, this year they will each find an Elmo t-shirt (yellow for Buba, pink for Tiny), a big bird whistle, and a small character doll (Elmo for Buba, Abby Cadabby for Tiny) in their stockings on Christmas morning. I can’t wait to see their faces as they pull each one out. And who knows, maybe one day, I’ll even let them watch the show.