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Monday, August 1, 2011

The Fortress is Crumbling

It seems all generations come with their annoying cartoon characters. I'm not sure what cartoons annoyed my parents most, but I'm pretty sure that Smurfs, Snorks and Woody Woody Pecker were near the top of the list.

Now that I'm a mom, my cartoon nemesis is Dora. From the first time I saw the show, I thought, "Ahh! Could that voice/plot/music be more annoying?" I decided to lay down the law: No Dora. Despite the clear adoration from my child, I invoked the parent privilege in our relationship and simply guided Marielle to better entertainment choices. My guard went down just a hair when I allowed Dora as a special treat on road trips, with a strict headphone provision. Then the Dora ban was weakened when Dora became kosher during visits to Grandma's house as well. But I still held my ground -- I let Marielle shed tears in the middle of Ross rather than come home with Dora-plastered footie jammies.

However, my resolve really started to break down when Jenna came along. In our "Dora OK Zone" at Grandma's I'd hear my baby shouting "map!" and "backpack!" and it was just so dang cute. Then last Christmas Ryan and I brainstormed "Dora Hunts" for Marielle and her cousins. I mean how fun is it to see six kiddos running around with backpacks and flashlights and fighting Grandpa Swiper? Before I knew it when Grandma asked what Jenna would like for her birthday I easily said, "anything Dora. She loves her."

My fortress isn't completely in ruins. We still have a no Dora check-out policy at our library and I sure didn't change the batteries on Jenna's talking Dora doll when they wore out. But look who just got herself a sweet pair of Dora jammies?


Sometimes it pays not to be the first born.

3 comments:

Kimi said...

Jenna sports those well!

Karisa said...

Your stories are always funny. I wish I were as good a writer! Jenna is too cute. Oh and by the way, sorry about the rolls!

PSC said...

We are glad to see you are finally starting to embrace other cultures. Maybe that love will spread far enough to do away with "rest talks." Percy hopes to someday also feel that love.