Go Baby??

Anja doesn't show a whole lot of interest in what is on TV. The TV is usually on, mainly for noise and occasionally for actual entertainment. On weekend mornings I put on cartoons. I remember Saturday morning cartoons being a big part of my childhood. Imagine waking up at 7 a.m. to watch "Superfriends"! Followed, of course, by Looney Toons. I had a black and white cat named Charles when I was a child, and I was convinced that when Charles went outside to do his business that he was actually going to California to be Sylvester.

The one show that Anja will actually pay attention to is "Go Baby!", a cute little 5-minute long program on the Disney channel which comes on every morning at about the time we have to put on shoes and socks to go to school. The show profiles the adventures of digitally-animated Baby, a little African-American boy baby as he goes to a farm, takes a bath, plays music, and even visits the moon. There are a total of eight episodes, and we have all of them recorded on the DVR. Occasionally, Baby is visited by Sophie, a precious little Asian baby. They coo and gurgle, wave and say hi and bye, and crawl around, all of the things Anja does. So it's no wonder that she will sit for five minutes to wave and dance with Baby and Sophie.

You know, all of these programs are made by adults so there has to be something to entertain the adults too (and yes, the sheer joy of watching my daughter wave and smile at the TV is wonderful, but I need some grown-up entertainment too). In one episode, Baby takes a bath to get ready for his play date with Sophie. He washes his feet and his hands and then his hair. Cue cute song: washing our hair for Sophie, washing our hair for Sophie. I think this episode is responsible for Anja learning how to wash her hair. But there, in the middle of the bath, arrives Sophie! Ready to play in the tub with Baby! And I know that they are innocently making bubble shapes, but I didn't realize that it was okay to teach my baby that she can go ahead and take baths with the opposite sex. How old was I the first time I bathed with a boy??? 21????

In another episode, Baby is sitting in a garden. There is an apple in a tree nearby and we have to help Baby pull the apple off the tree so he can give it to Sophie. Sophie arrives in the garden, is delighted with the apple, and takes a huge bite out of it.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Maybe that whole Garden of Eden thing got mixed up in the retelling??

The outer space episode is trippy. Baby and Sophie wear onesies and space helmets. Apparently, you can crawl on the moon but you can also float if you want to.

But Anja loves it. Yeah, sometimes she will glance at Little Einsteins and sometimes peer at Pooh, but she knows that when we sit on the couch after getting dressed and Mommy starts fiddling with the remote that it's time for our show. And she smiles and waves and laughs while I put on her shoes.

And that is priceless.