The benefits of Dora the Explorer?

It was the hottest day of the year and we were swimming in my parents' pool to cool down.  Although Ellie has been doing swimming lessons, she's not a great swimmer and panics if she starts to go under, you know, the exact opposite of what you're supposed to do.

Ellie was happily floating along in her dolphin inner tube when she started to slip out.  Frantic, she starts yelling "ayúdame!  ayúdame!" and my mom looks at her like she has two heads.

"Is she saying 'I'm slipping?'" my mom asked.  I took a step towards Ellie {we were all within inches of each other} and readjusted her favorite swimming friend. 

"No, Mom.  She's saying 'help me' in Spanish."  Ellie popped her head around the side of Flipper and add, "Yeah, Nonna.  Ayúdame!  means Help me!"

That's not the only time Ellie will use Spanish instead of English.  If she wants to go up or down she says it in Spanish.  If we are stuck at at stoplight in the car she'll yell out a "Rapido! Rapido!" or if she is falling behind she screams out "Espera!"

In case you are wondering, we do not have her enrolled in a ritzy Montessori school that teaches multiple languages.  No, she watches Dora. 

It was cute in the beginning that she would throw out a word in Spanish as she was talking but it's starting to get out of control.  She used to say the Spanish word then the English word but now she omits entire English phrases for Spanish.  And for those who don't watch Dora or have forgotten the Spanish they learned in high school and college, it can be a bit of a challenge.

Between Ellie speaking Spanish and Baby {Ellie and Madeline seem to communicate seamlessly in Madeline's native babbling} we've had to start asking her to speak English or we can get really confused.  It's a shame I sold back all of my Spanish 101, 102, 201 and 202 textbooks.  Learning a foreign language really is useful...just not in a way I ever imagined!