Creative juices are flowing

Benjamin has recently started to pretend. This has been a very entertaining development for me as I happen upon his make-believe world from time to time.

Pictured: Benjamin meticulously "parking" all of his cars in a jam-packed make-believe parking lot. Believe me, he had in his mind where each and every car belonged and did not rest until each one was in place.

Another gem: Mondays are an exciting day in our house. During breakfast (my children take at least 30 minutes, if not 45, to eat breakfast) all sheets, blankies, and sleeping "friends" disappear for 2-3 hours. This, by the way, is not the exciting part. The kids wander around all morning wondering where in the world their beloved possessions have gone. But around 11:00 a buzzer sounds from that mysterious room in our house where children rarely venture and voila! the precious belongings reappear smelling distinctly sweeter than before. Last week Benj wandered into his room to find his bed freshly made and his friends all lined up against the footboard. He grabbed both of his very best friends, Bear (who is washable) and Giraffe (who is not), by the scruff of their necks and staged their joyful reunion:

Giraffe: "Hi Bear!"
Bear: "Hi Giraffe! I'm all clean!"
Giraffe: "I'm not wet." (Translation: I am not.)

Talia, by turns, has also discovered a new realm of play: taking care of her "babies." (Right now her favorite "baby" is a cuddly soft bear dressed in a pink bunny costume.)

The other night I was picking up toys in the kids room. It dawned on me that I hadn't seen Talia wander past in several minutes. Recalling the last time I ignored the impulse to check on her (resulting in the breaking of my glasses), I went to find her. I found her in the kitchen, diligently at work strapping her bear into her booster seat at the table. When she succeeded in snapping both buckles she pushed the chair up to the table. A little while later, as I was changing Benjamin's diaper, she toddled into their bedroom, "baby" in tow, also bearing an unknown white item in her other hand. Upon investigating I found she had a small wad of diaper wipes (who knows where she found those....) She tossed her bear on the floor, plopped down beside her, and began copiously wiping. Looking up at me she said proudly, "Change diaper!"

Epilogue: Later I was recounting this story to Seth on the phone and Talia, still clinging to her bear, looked up at me and smiled charmingly. As an aside to her I said, "Little girl, is that your baby?" Her smile got bigger, like I had just told a great joke, and toddling over to me to pat my belly she said, "Nooooo. Baby in Mama's tummy." I guess she's just practicing.