Adios, Amigos!

All of our friends in Doraland have left the building. Dora, Diego, Boots, Isa, Benny, even Swiper will kind of be missed around here. Isabelle told us this weekend that we could stop recording a few of her cartoons, because they were for babies, and she's a big girl now. Shows now on the cutting room floor include:

• Dora the Explorer
• Backyardigans
• Max and Ruby (good riddance!)
• Little Mermaid (this one surprised me)

I have been silently sabotaging the Max and Ruby recordings for a few weeks now. I am not afraid to say out loud that I absolutely, positively abhor Ruby. She is the most nagging, annoying big sister any poor boy on this planet could ever be cursed with. The sabotage came back to bite me though, because Iz just re-watched the same 3 episodes ad-nauseum. So, needless to say, I was very happy when she announced that this troubled twosome was off her radar for good.

The Little Mermaid I was actually surprised about. She hasn't quite left the Princess stage just yet, but I have a feeling it's going to be long gone by the time Kindergarten starts. Any girl classmate with an older sibling will surely have kicked the Princesses out of her life by the time the first day of school rolls around.

I was a little nostalgic about letting Dora and Backyardigans go. Dora can certainly be grating at times but she has been in our lives for so long now, I do think I'll kind of miss her. And as for those musically-gifted critters on Backyardigans, I really actually LIKE that show. It's one I could sit down for 22 minutes and tolerate watching with Iz. They went on great adventures, they learned about places far and wide, they sang pretty snazzy tunes (some of which we have downloaded on our iPod), and they had relatively healthy snacks. I saw first hand how that show fostered creativity in Isabelle long after the boob tube was turned off. She would go on her own adventures and sing quietly about her experiences.

Isabelle graduates from Pre-K on Thursday. I can't believe we start the big K in just a few short summery weeks. She's so excited, and I am too, if not a bit sad for this rite of passage that both of us are about to share.

So, Dora, Diego, Boots, Isa, Benny, Swiper, Pablo, Uniqua, Tasha, Tyrone, and Austin. Adios, Amigos.

Max and Ruby? Don't let the door hit you on the.....