Barney

I know what you are thinking...What mom is grateful for Barney.  To be truthful, before I ever had kids, I promised myself that Barney would never have a place in my home.  He's way too annoying, and the kids are such bad actors, and who wants to hear cheesy songs for 30 minutes straight (oh wait, I love cheesy songs).  
That promise to myself was quickly broken when I saw how much my kids love Barney.  Caiti carries around her plush Barney and tells him her deepest secrets.  Jason flaps and does a happy stomping thing whenever Barney shows up on TV.  The very best thing about Barney is that he taught my Garrett some functional language.  I know they are working on hello, goodbye and all those greetings in his therapy, but the one that stuck was "See ya!"  "See ya later Aunt Michelle."  "See ya later Mommy!"   That is because at the end of Barney, when the last kid is leaving, he turns around and says, "See ya later Barney!"  My very favorite thing Barney taught Garrett to say was his closing statement, "And remember, I love you."  When Garrett wants me to tell him I love him, he comes up to me and says, "And remember..." and waits...and then I get to finish his sentence with "I love you!"