The wonder of imagination

Hannah and Isabelle are such a trip lately. This is such a fun age (they'll be 3 in September). Right now, they're big into comparing and pretending and imagining. For example, we 've been eating a lot of watermelon and I cut them into slices that are in the shape of triangles. Isabelle decided they look like sailboats so now when they eat watermelon, they each hold up their slice and move it around in the air and chant, "Sail away, sail away, sail away..."

They also take great pleasure in realizing things that are similar, like the same color or type of object or shape. One or the other of them will spot something in a crowd, like someone wearing a blue t-shirt, and yell out with glee, "That's a blue t-shirt, like the blue in the sky! They're the SAME!"

As it's high summer in these parts, we also have a lot of thunder and lightning storms. Isabelle has become a weather forecaster in the making, built largely upon her fear of thunder. When we go outside to play, she nervously scans the sky and asks me, "Are they dark clouds Mommy, or white puffy ones?" "Is it going to rain?" "Is Mother Nature going to make loud thunder, Mommy?" (My explanation of thunder has been that it's Mother Nature saying "it's too hot outside" and clapping her hands together to make thunder and rain to come and cool us off. B on the other hand, ever the engineer, tries to explain the science behind cloud formation, warm and cold fronts, etc.)

Isabelle has also gotten waaaay into her baby dolls lately. We don't have a lot in the way of doll accessories around here as I tend to choose more gender-neutral toys for them. But despite this, she is all about acting out the mother role, especially with her favorite and largest baby doll, aptly named "Big Baby." Big Baby comes pretty much everywhere with us now and the other day, as we were getting ready to leave our friend T's house Isabelle cradled Big Baby in her arms and clucked, "It's okay Baby, I know you don't want to leave T's house. But we'll be back again, I promise. It's ooookaaaay."

Isabelle has also gotten into this thing where when we brush her teeth, she first lists off all of the different items that reside in her mouth which we have to acknowledge when we brush. So tonight before I start to brush she tells me, "In my mouth there are two bunnies and a teddy bear. And, and, and a puppy dog. And a marching band! The marching band is playing and they are all dancing."

Hannah has her own toothbrushing routine which involves one of us identifying the various instruments in a marching band (we've been to a lot of parades this summer) and then humming some military march or another while we brush.

I could go on and on...the list of funny and quirky and weird things that they say and do is endless! I wish I could remember to write them all down when they happen so I can recall them when they're surly teenagers who won't even look me in the eye.