Big Bird and other spooky puppets

I've observed a very loose no-TV-before-you're-2 rule with Will and Owen, which I violated all the time by letting Owen watch a few minutes of a PBS cartoon I've turned on for Will right before Owen's naptime or some Georgia football or tennis with dad. And occasionally, on days like today when Owen is sick, I've let him rest and watch an entire show.

Now, even though, he's been 2 since July, I haven't been pushing TV on Owen. And apparently I haven't spent enough time desensitizing little Owen to the horrors of Sesame Street. He loves to read books with illustrated Sesame Street Characters, but show him those big live puppets in action and he is certifiably spooked. And yet curious. This is how Owen watched Sesame Street today -- from a very sideways sneak-a-peek kind of angle and from about 15 feet away. After about 5 minutes he abandoned the show entirely and retreated to a non-TV room. (See if you can make out Owen in this first photo. He kind of blends in with the far-off bookshelf.)

If you live near Columbus and have children who love Big Bird more than fear him and who wouldn't mind seeing him in even bigger proportions, check out the "Sesame Street: One World, One Sky" show at the Coca Cola Space Science Center Omnisphere Theater. Show times are here. Last month, we made it through about 4 minutes of the show before Will and Owen both agreed they were too spooked by the dark and the oversized Big Bird who was giving them a tour of the starry sky, and we had to flee to well lit areas of the building. It would have been a great show though for less skittish kids.