We took the little guy when he was almost two, and we should have known better. A few months earlier we had been at lunch at Red Robin (a burger joint) where a large red robin walks out into the dining area for the kids. I didn't see the character enter the room, but I did note my kids eyes go wider than I've ever seen, his mouth fly open but not a sound emerge, and saw him begin to shake rather noticably. I glanced where he was looking, and realized pretty quickly what was freaking him out... Needless to say, he and I headed to the car while DM got our food packed up.
Fast forward a few months and Sesame Street is in town. I have a friend who was with the show and she called to tell us she had left tickets at the Box Office for us. Second Row. We started to walk to our seats when Elmo came out to make an announcement. While our little guy wasn't displaying quite the same level of abject fear, it was pretty clear that he had no intention of getting closer. As such, we wound up watching the show from the back of the balcony in a completely deserted section. From that distance, Elmo appeared to be approximately two inches tall...
At age three he was still troubled by Orbit, our minor league baseball mascot, but by age four he had become an a member of the fan club and would drag my DW or myself around the ballpark to catch up with him. My kid had become an Orbit stalker. Finally, two weeks ago that he got comfortable with the giant pizza slice which walked around, after realizing it was just guy dressed up in a funny outfit.
Servants of Evan (Mr. Orbit Stalker).
(Avoided the balloon, but got the flashlight)
