Elmo! Elmo! Elmo!

Most of you are familiar with Sesame Street and the characters living there. Even if you have never watched the show, you know who Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster and Elmo are. Especially Elmo. He became a household word with the Tickle Me Elmo 'must have' Christmas gift a few years ago.

Elmo is the object of my two-year-old granddaughter's affection. She is absolutely nuts about him. Just how that happened I cannot say. Somehow, she latched on to him.

Hannah now has stuffed Elmos, Elmo fuzzy blanket, several pair of Elmo pajamas, a pair of Elmo socks, some Elmo T-shirts and sweatshirts, an Elmo phone, an Elmo laptop toy, several Elmo DVDs and many Elmo books. For Christmas, she received even more Elmo toys.

I took care of Hannah one day last week when she was ill. Her mom warned me that Hannah threw up several times the day before and could still have an unsettled stomach.

When she finally woke up, she just wanted me to hold her. She let me change her diaper after I assured her she could continue to wear her Elmo pajamas.

Later I was able to give her a bath by showing her the clean pair of Elmo PJ's she could wear afterwards. The little one remembered the last time I put the dirty clothes into the wash while she was taking a bath! That trick did not work a second time.

When her parents came home from work, both commented on the pajamas she was wearing. This was not the first time Hannah was wearing pajamas when they left her in my care all day. However, it was the first time I knowingly put her into sleepwear.

During the day, Hannah ate very little but drank lots of apple juice and other nutritious liquids while we watched Elmo on DVD and the computer. I love Sesamestreet.org.

It is interactive for children of many ages. My granddaughter selects the character she wants to see - occasionally she picks Ernie - and then the video clip to watch. The clips are of various lengths but none are very long which is suited to a toddler's attention span.

Hannah watches, claps when the segment ends and sometimes selects the same clip to see again. That is boring for me, so I watch her face. It remains animated. She claps again and may pick that same one. Eventually I tell her the computer needs to take a nap. She understands that and waves good night to the monitor.

Then we read Elmo books. These are interactive books with various pieces that come out. They are great fun for her. She also put several of her stuffed Elmos on chairs and read to them.

By then she was ready to take a nap herself. She brought her fuzzy Elmo blanket over to me, settled on my shoulder and fell asleep. That is not how naptime usually goes. As I said, she was under the weather.

When Hannah woke up, she was hungry. A strong sign of recovery. She was her old self again by the end of the day. That was good as her parents planned to take her to see Elmo in person the next day!

They tell me she loved the show. Clapped, yelled, and carried on like the fan she is.

By the time the two-hour show was over, she was ready to leave.

Do not worry this little one has an unhealthy obsession. She does love Elmo now, but Dora the Explorer is showing signs of being the next object of her affection.