Elmo!

ob·sess 

1. to dominate or preoccupy the thoughts, feelings, or desires of a person

Nola has an obsession, and his name is Elmo.

It all started a few months back. I took Nola into Toys'r'Us to look at some toys and stuff for the baby. We were in the book aisle, and I could hear Nola repeating the same word over and over again. I wasn't too sure what she was saying, so I went to see what she was up to, and she was packing around 2 different sesame street books, both with Elmo on the cover. She then pointed to Elmo and repeated what she had been saying, his name. I was quite confused - where did she learn who Elmo was? We didn't have anything Elmo at home. We did have one Sesame Street book, however it had Cookie Monster on it, not Elmo. My mom has an Ernie doll at her house, but again, no Elmo. After she packed the books around the whole store, I felt she had a connection to Elmo so I let her bring a book home. Well, if I only knew what I was getting myself into!

Over the past month or so, her love of Elmo has developed into a full-blown obsession. She has everything Elmo - books, toys, clothes, movies. You name it, she has it. GG bought her pair of Elmo PJ's at Sears, and Nola insisted on carrying them through out the whole mall. My dad bought Nola an Elmo stuffed toy, and she would hug him tight, give him a kiss and then stare at him, like she couldn't believe he was there in her arms. It was adorable to watch!

After Robbie was born, my Mom bought Nola an Elmo DVD. It's called Elmo's Music Magic, which is a double whammy with her. Nola loves music, so to watch and hear Elmo sing songs and dance for 45 minutes is like heaven. Robbie is now 4 weeks old and I am about ready to smash that DVD to bits, however it is so darn cute watching Nola watch that movie. She laughs, cheers and dances her little butt off!

Even though Nola's first word out of her mouth in the morning and last thing she says before bed is 'Elmo', I know she still loves me best. Bless her sweet little heart!