About Sweetmama Editor
Nadine Silverthorne’s love of journaling began in Grade One with the entry, “I am the greatest dancer!” Two babies (and countless diaper changes) later, she has found her home away from home as editor of SweetMama. Don’t miss her humorous bi-weekly accounts of the joys and pains of working while raising them fabulous.
I've created a monster! A furry red monster-loving monster.
My son's first word was "Elmo." He was our first and as new parents we were totally opposed to such our young son watching TV. He'd never even seen an episode of Sesame Street, so I have no idea how he learned about Elmo at 11 months-old. We bought him some Elmo gear (a doll, a cell phone that sings), but it wasn't long before he outgrew the Elmo phase.
And then there's Lucy. Her incredible obsession with love of the furry red monster shows no signs of stopping. Of course, the rules are more lax with the second child. She's seen countless programs in her 21 months. But nothing captures her attention like Elmo. She walks around the house all day saying "Emmo." She hands me the remote, sits in her furry red chair and says "Emmo," demanding a video. She has learned how to break through the childproofing on the TV cabinet, so that she can retrieve her favourite DVDs and hand them to me.
No amount of Elmo is enough. All Elmo viewings lead to a desire for more Elmo. "Mo?" Sometimes she likes to take things that little bit extra and watch Elmo while hugging her Elmo Live doll. Her face lights up like the tree at Rockefeller Center at the mere anticipation of Elmo appearing on the screen. Should a character other than Elmo (Mr. Noodle perhaps, or Grover, or Abby Caddaby...) get the close up shot, she freaks out. "No! NO!" She waves her hands back and forth and closes her eyes until Elmo's voice is on again and all is right with the world.
So we have decided to blow her mind. This weekend we're taking her to see Sesame Street Live. This falls into the category of things you swore you'd never do before you were a parent, but now that you are one you are so freakin' excited about it in spite of yourself. Because it's all about seeing things through their eyes. All I can think about are Lucy's eyes as big as saucers -- that giant grin... (I know. I'm totally an enabler.)
It's playing in select cities across Canada and here are the details for the Toronto show, in case you have an Elmo fan in your house.
Sesame Street Live
“When Elmo Grows Up”
Toronto, ON; Rogers Centre
May 22-24, 2009
Tickets are available at the box office and via Ticketmaster
Thought that was sweet? You'll enjoy: