Tinky Winky Comes to Play ("Uh Oh!")

I'm afraid Brian is never going to forgive me for introducing Zoe to the realm of Tinky Winky and his teletubby buddies. While I am quite tolerant of most children's television, even enjoying some of the shows, Brian is much less tolerant. Especially when it comes to chubby purple male cherubs toting red purses.

Zoe is now obsessed with the whole Teletubbies deal. She has been asking for them everyday. Today she must have understood when I told her they were not on until after lunch. She finally quit asking until halfway through lunch. Then, perched in her highchair with a mouthful of hamburger, came a sudden insistence of "Tubbies! Down! Tubbies!" as if she just remembered my promise. I managed to convince her that it still wasn't time for the "Tubbies" and she had time to finish her lunch. Unfortunately (for Zoe at least), the "Tubbies" only play Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday it's the BooBaah's. Now...let me take a brief tangeant here.... I once thought the Teletubbies was the weirdest children's tv show ever. However, I must now emphatically insist that the BooBaah's completely "out-weird" the Teletubbies. I still cannot figure out what a BooBaah is (though I cannot figure out what a teletubby is either) ...my current speculation is that a BooBaah is the seed of a milkweed. At the beginning of the show it appears that each BooBaah "hatches" out of some wild, colorful, alien form of a milkweed pod. At any rate, Zoe seemed appeased today with the BooBaah's--at least temporarily.

Zoe's favorite part of the "Tubbies" is when the great "baby sun god" rises in the sky and squeals and laughs, prompting Zoe to squeal and laugh in like fashion. When the "Tubbies" dance, Zoe must copy their dance moves, twirling and bouncing like the roundish imps that mysteriously broadcast television through their tummies. She also loves it when the tubbies take turns saying "Uh oh!" over and over again. In light of such shows as Teletubbies and BooBaah's, I am convinced that I too could write a children's program and be at least as successful (and a lot richer than I am currently).

Though Zoe appeared to settle for the BooBaah's today, she never did entirely forget the "Tubbies." I had to wake her up from her nap to drop her off at Brian's office on my way to work. Upon awakening, eyes still puffy and completely groggy in a sleep-like stupor, the first word out of Dear Daughter's mouth was, "Tubbies!" Lord help me...I fear my husband may strangle me for allowing this new toddler interest to emerge. In an attempt to redeem myself, I've had to remind him that it COULD be worse: at least Dear Daughter isn't infatuated with the big purple dinosaur (Or Fred Rogers--God rest his soul--as Uncle Ron and Aunt Pat will never let me forget!)