Over the last few months, Daphne has fallen in love with Elmo. It’s funny how kids respond to that character. After only watching Sesame Street a few times, Daphne already knew who he was and yelled out “Elmo!” when she saw his face on a t-shirt at Target. I’ve tried to get her interested in Yo Gabba Gabba or some of the other “cool” shows for toddlers. Nope. She likes Jack/Mary/Mel from Jack’s Big Music Show, Elmo, Dora and Barney. I know, Barney? I accidentally let her watch an episode and she was mesmerized. She hasn’t seen an episode since. I can’t handle Barney.

Last week, Chris brought home an Elmo doll that talks and blows kisses. Oh my goodness. You know the footage of young girls screaming after the Beatles? That’s pretty much what Daphne looked like when Chris showed her the Elmo doll. She didn’t scream, but she was beside herself. You could just see she was thinking, “Elmo is in my LIVING ROOM!!!!!!! AHHHH!!!!” She loves that doll. And I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love that she loves it, but I hate that it’s the first thing I hear in the mornings through the baby monitor. “Elmo loves you, You’re Elmo’s sweetheart!” Then my husband nudges me and says, “Elmo’s up” and I go get Daphne & Elmo out of the crib.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Jim Henson company. I loved the Frog Prince (had the album), The Muppet Show (when I was allowed to stay up late to see it), Emmet Otter, even Fraggle Rock. But, I can’t say I’m a huge Elmo fan. He’s cute, I don’t dislike him, but it gets a little old. Like, the Elmo Asks A Baby part of Elmo’s World. How many times do we have to ask questions to babies who don’t talk? Just saying. I miss the old Sesame Street. You know, with Grover and Bert and Ernie. And little kids like John-John, remember him?

Sometimes I let Daphne climb up on my lap and we watch Elmo videos on sesamestreet.org and YouTube. Of course, you have to be careful with YouTube. I just about fell out of the chair laughing over this Elmo spoof (Warning- puppets with foul mouths. Don’t watch this in front of your kids.):

“What makes you think Elmo won’t cut you!” Bwahahahahaha! And if you like slightly offensive puppets, make sure and check out the Puppet Up! clips on YouTube. You might recognize some of the puppets from other Henson productions. My favorites are Repeats (the second skit in this next clip):

And Eye Witnesses:

Enjoy!