Pica Pau and Mr. Bean

We've shared before that we don't have cable. It isn't a "holier than thou" thing. We actually had cable when we first moved here, but cut it out a few years ago because of all the trash that was entering our house. We didn't want the kids seeing some of the American trash they showed on the basic channels, and frankly, we didn't need to see any of that stuff either. The things they might show late at night on HBO in the states would be shown on a regular cable channel in the afternoon here . The clincher to cutting out the cable was when I saw an awful, vulgar commercial at 2:00 in the afternoon. It shocked us to see that, and then think about our kids walking by the TV and seeing the same one.

We haven't really had withdrawals from the TV. Garrett and I really miss European soccer but we at least get to see some games from time to time with our antenna. We get 3-4 channels. So whenever someone asks what they could give to the kids, we usually recommend some kind of TV series. We've got a nice little DVD collection.

Anyway, when we go somewhere that has cable, it's easy for the kids to want to spend some time vegging out to shows.

On the day we left our hotel to come home, we were all packing and I walked in to see Anderson in this position. He was kicked back and soaking in his last day of watching TV.

He was watching cartoons. The day before he had told Benay that Pica Pau (Woody Woodpecker) was the best actor on TV. He was dead serious.

The next day he told me that Mr. Bean was the second best actor. Brasilians have a love for Mr. Bean that is as puzzling as the French love for Jerry Lewis. We are thrilled(not) that most of our kids love Mr. Bean.

When Benay and I got home from a date last night, Ansley showed us this video that she had made while babysitting. You get to not only see Anderson's love for Pica Pau but his acting ability as well:


Maybe he has a future in voice-overs?