Obsessed

I'm a bad mom, there I said it. I admit it. I have a million reasons to justify my behavior, but I'm sure many of you could prove that they are wrong. For the last four months I have found myself placing the Ladybug and Bean in front of the TV while I prepare their breakfast, clean the dishes from the night before, and quickly prepare Bean's lunch for school. For one hour they are entranced with Dora the Explorer. Their eyes transfixed, mouths wide open anticipating the next adventure, and nothing can break them from being hypnotized.

So, it was to no surprise that for Bean's 3rd birthday she was showered with Dora gifts from her grandparents; an Enchanted Forest Dora costume, Dora themed pencils and stickers, Dora strawberry lip gloss, and life-sized Dora pillow, and a miniature-size Dora doll that plays a little jingle once her belly is pushed. A few months went by without Ladybug noticing the Dora dolls until it finally happened. Bean was busy with her stickers and left both of her dolls alone, looking helpless on the floor. Ladybug looked over noticed the pleas of neglect in their eyes as she quickly crawled to their rescue. I didn't think much of it until I noticed how Ladybug held both dolls; one by the neck under her arm with the other pushed tightly to her chest. She held them while crawling, eating and sleeping - which was awesome when Ladybug switched positions at 3am accidentally rolling on the singing Dora. Bean was nice at first allowing this obsession to last for a few days, but she really wanted her Dora's back. Needless to say, I found myself running to Target to purchase two new dolls, which of course backfired. Now instead of two doll to obsess over, she had four. If anyone attempted to touch the dolls she would scream at the top of her lungs then growl, like she does when we ask her to imitate a lion, to fend off the intruder. Things were getting out of control. She was becoming possessed with the spirit of Dora and we needed an exorcism, fast.

Two weeks had passed and I noticed that Ladybug stopped trying to walk because she was so busy trying to crawl and drag the dolls around. Would her obsession hinder her her ability to walk? I grabbed my computer and started to Google about kids with obsessive personalities, and became inundated with a slew of disorders that she may have. I started to panic and reached for my phone to alert my husband when out of the corner of my eye I saw Ladybug standing. She stood there staring at Dora clenched in her right hand. She slowly bent down and grabbed Dora #2 with her left, carefully stood upright, then smiled. She was balanced, calm, and confident. She looked at me, grinned and took one step. Then two...then three, four, five, six....She was FINALLY walking! I tried to hold back my excitement but I could tell she noticed it as my smile felt bigger than my face could allow. She slowly made her way across the room into my arms. I immediately started to kiss her little face and praise her feverishly. She moved her face trying to dodge my attempts, and giggled at the same. She glanced up at me with a coy look on her face, grunted a command, and pushed both Dora dolls to my mouth. I of course, had to give both Dora's a big kiss back.