Dotty is a "Dora Girl"...

Tony and I are not the type of parents that stress over a lot of things. Mainly we worry that Dotty is too skinny but other than that we don't get overly excited if she gets her clothes dirty, drops her sippy on the floor then immediately picks it up and starts to drink it again without us washing it off, picks up bugs, dances to Beyonce, or things of that nature. I know I personally never make a big deal about Dotty being "dressed to impress" (except for church) and her hair is usually a mess when I have her (although I am getting better about at least keeping it out of her eyes).

(As a side note...Ruth Ann does a great job of getting Dotty super cute and she always has her hair looking great and Julie makes sure Dotty's toes are painted up pretty. My mom's apartment is Dotty's own personal "nudist colony" so she never wears clothes there and if they go out Mom is a firm believer in sweat pants, tshirts, and crocks.)

All this being said, everyone on both sides of the family watches a lot of tv...or at least we have the tv on in the room whether we are actively watching it or not. I realize some parents are sticklers for how much their children can watch tv but not me and Tony. Dotty is a big fan of Nick Jr. and loves Dora, Diego, The Wonder Pets, The Backyardigans, Wow Wow Wubzy, Kai-lan and so many more.

I watch a lot of these shows with her (mainly because she watches them in the living room since she does not have a tv in her room) and I find them very educational. (One night Dotty was gone and there was not much on tv and I caught myself watching Dora because it was one I had not seen before...sad but true.)

Dotty seems to be doing fine even with all the tv she watches. She can count to 13 in English, 10 in Spanish, she knows her ABC's, she sings tons of nursery rhymes, she can do puzzles, she has quite a vocabulary (as you can tell I am one of "those mothers") and she she is active (wow is she active). So I don't think tv is all bad (of course Dotty does stay with a retired school teacher 2 days a week and goes to preschool 2 days a week but even so keep reading because I do have a point...).

This past Tuesday I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth and Dotty was in the bedroom where Tony has an old water jug (the kind that goes on the stands) that he throws change in and Dotty had stuck her hand in the jug to reach for the money. Her hand was slightly stuck (because she was spreading her fingers and could not get her hand out. I got it out just fine but did remind her that sticking her hand in there was not a good idea). She called out "Mommy help me! Ayuda me! Ayuda me!" At first I had no clue what she was saying so I asked her and she replied "I was saying "help" like Dora does."

So there you go. Dora (and tv in general) cannot be all bad. My 2 year old child probably knows more Spanish and Chinese (thanks to Kai-lan) than I do. Although I am learning a few words myself from watching with her.

Little brains are amazing. Little minds work mysteriously. Little mouths say the cutest things.

Adios, Zai jian, Bye!