I Love to Count!

Children's programming. Having a kid gets you quite an education in what's out there for kids entertainment. (And no, I'm not even going to veer into "no TV under 2 years old" territory. I don't need the guilt.) Personally, I grew up with TV and I like sticking with tried and true favorites like Sesame Street.

Recently I had to wonder how much of children's programming is a nod and a wink to the parents... I caught the last half of a totally new (to me) Sesame Street sketch. Count von Count was settling into bed to watch his favorite program... 24 (Seconds). He proceeded to count down 24 seconds, utilizing the split screen technique favored by the actual show 24... and the last thing you see is a rather blond, spiky-haired muppet striding off the screen a la Jack Bauer. I cracked up!

Did I mention that my mousepad has the Conjunction Junction (Schoolhouse Rock) engineer?

Blankie

I'm trying to remember if I ever had what the baby books would term a "lovey"... a toy or something that goes everywhere, and gets lotsa lovin' a la Linus and his blanket. Maybe Baby Beans, which Mom and Dad sent to me a few years ago... she's a pink-suited doll, with a bean bag body. I can remember being quite put out at one point when I was supposed to share her with my little brother...

We have a Linus in our house. Daniel LOVES the blankie my Aunt Anne made for him. It's fleece, and she crocheted the fringe which is perfect for poking fingers through, or dragging through baby teeth, or just rubbing between cute baby fingers. Blankie doesn't quite go everywhere... it usually doesn't make it out of the house except for special occasions. But I believe it is a big reason that we have him sleeping in his own room now. How about you? Did you have a special toy?