Sophie is obsessed with the Count.

Every morning, when we sit on the futon in my studio and watch Sesame Street, Sophie waits with bated breath for the appearance of the Count. When she hears the first few notes of his theme music, she starts to hyperventilate and has to half-hide under the quilt. She talks like the Count, she loves numbers, and she pretends she's the Countess almost every day. Peter and Angela now think you're supposed to yell "Ah ah ah!" after every number, and don't even get me started on what they all do during a thunderstorm.



My brother saw this hero-worship in person when we were all watching a Christmas special at my parents' house and the Count made a surprise appearance. Sophie immediately laid prostrate on the floor and covered her eyes - she wanted to look at him, but she couldn't bear it. My brother couldn't believe it.

"She can't even look at him!"

"Well, that's because she loves him so much."

"I swear to God, it's just like a teenager seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show!" he marveled. He grabbed the remote and rewound it so we could watch her grovel again.

We even made her a Count poster to put stickers on when she uses the potty:



I've had these images for quite a while, but it was Dooce's sidesplitting commentary that made me finally post them... thank you, my little Sachertorte!