I have some new thoughts on this Dora thing:

1. It's my fault. I am 100% responsible for the word "Dora" entering Alexis' vocabulary. I realized it when we were out at a restaurant yesterday. For as long as Alexis' has had the disposable Dora placemats, I have used them to keep her busy while we wait for food when we are out. She points to something on the placemat and says "What's that?" and I answer her. Or I point and she tells me. She knows the signs for ball, monkey, flower, and frog because of that. And she knows the words ball, flower, and Dora because of it, too.

2. Dora lost her extra "d" this weekend. Her name is now perfectly pronounced as "Dora!" (The exclamation point at the end is very important.)

3. Dora is flippin' EVERYWHERE. We now know that because Alexis points her out EVERYWHERE. Everytime I think she's just imagining things, another weird Dora item shows up. Here's some examples:

* Sears--there's a bin of Dora videos by the checkout.
* Michaels'--Dora is all over some foam stickers near the party supplies.
* Giant Eagle (grocery store)--are you ready for this--Dora is in at least EIGHT aisles. Ice cream. Cookies. Animal crackers. Fruit snacks. Yogurt. Metal trays. Sippy cups. Napkins. Books. And that's just the aisles where I figured out what Alexis was pointing at. Dora's face is on more products than George Washington is on dollar bills.
* Target--it's Giant Eagle times a thousand. There's a whole aisle of Dora toys and that's in addition to her presence on clothing, sporting goods, accessories, bubble bath, band-aids, books, videos, etc., etc., etc.
* I could go on, and on, and on, and on. Trust me, there is nowhere that you can go that will be 100% Dora free.