This post is mostly for me as a mom, knowing that I will be sentimental very soon and want to remember an innocent little world of inhabitants, created from the imaginations of two little girls. I know that all too soon, the world of pretend will be left behind in favor of the real world, but I sure have enjoyed the chance to live in the former, gentler world for a few years here.
I'd like to introduce you to a few of Catherine's friends. First and foremost, here is the all-time favorite: Tigey. Tigey is Catherine's lovey and to her, no one is more beautiful. His fuzzy exterior is threadbare, the stuffing inside has been so compressed that he is completely limp, and, oh that eye. What happened to that eye, I have no idea. But it must have hurt. Catherine reads to Tigey at nap time and she has celebrated his birthday at least 100 times. Hey, by the time we hit 100 years old, we all have some battle scars, right? Tigey began his life as a wubbanub pacifier, given to me at a baby shower by my friend Mandy, if I'm not mistaken. When it was time to pull the paci, we cut off the rubber part, sewed up his mouth and he's not missed a single night or naptime of Catherine's life.
Next up, we have the toy du jour. This giant monkey (hippo?) was a gift from Catherine's friend Daniel at her second birthday. For the first six months or so, the girls didn't play with him much, but now, he's quite in favor. His name is . . . wait for it . . . Loveration. (Apparently named after the last book of the Bible, Catherine explained to me . . . hmmmm.) His rather large stature and pear-shaped torso prevents him from falling out of the play stroller AND Russell and I suspect he may be a favorite because he is one of the only stuffed animals large enough that Flash doesn't pick him up and carry him around. Or pull off his nose (yeah, a certain Pooh suffered that fate last week. Sad.)
And that brings us to our next two friends. These two monkeys are both George. At first, it seemed Catherine was going to take a play out of the Foreman family playbook, but then a certain feature stepped in to set them apart. Flash was in love with one of them. I am guessing you can tell which. So here in the photo below, we have Crusty George and Soft George. Both are faithful friends, but really only one is good for snuggling. I'm sure that Catherine would tell you that Soft George is hers and that Crusty George is Caroline's. We'll see if she agrees when she is articulate enough to dispute that claim.
Bathtime is always more fun with friends, especially if those friends happen to be whistling hippos. These are two of the girls' favorite bath toys, Elliot Hippo (left) and Amara Hippo (right). These two are both named after the girls' friends. There is some confusion with regard to Elliot's gender. The bikini would indicate that the toy is a girl, but she's named after a boy. And according to Catherine, any toy without noticeable eyelashes can really be either one. But is probably a boy. "He" or "she" used interchangeably here.
And now we get to the dolls. The dolls in our house have interesting relationships, with Catherine and Caroline usually assuming mommy roles (Catherine occasionally pretends to be the grandmother, which is hilarious...). Sometimes they go grocery shopping or go on walks, but they seem to spend most of their time eating and sleeping. And I must say, the dolls do both MUCH more cooperatively than the actual children.
In the photo below, you will find each girl's first doll. On the left is Catherine's precious Alabama. I don't know why she is named that, but she is. Since she gave her that name at about 20 months, I'll cut her some slack. And in case you're wondering, she is named after the state and NOT the university. I'm sure of that. I had no idea how much Alabama's hair would resemble Catherine's in its current pig-tailed state! It gets just as messy sometimes too! On the left is Caroline's first baby doll (boo-buh dah!). Though our intention was to leave her nameless until Caroline chose a name for her, Catherine started calling her "Grandpa Baby" and it stuck. Would anyone like to guess where that name came from? (Hint . . . think follicles . . .) She was a gift from my aunt, who raised two girls of her own and clearly knows what little girls like!
My aunt also gave Catherine the doll on the right in the photo below. Forgive their closed eyes; they were just so tired and I lay them down . . . ha! If only real kids slept so easily!! Anyway, these two babies were both named Sally (after the girl from the Cat in the Hat AND Sally Lloyd Jones, I'm told . . . ). When I made a minor objection, pointing out that with two dolls with the same name, there might be some confusion, Catherine immediately remedied the situation by giving them middle names, particularly her and her sister's middle names. So this is Sally Elizabeth and Sally Ruth. Truthfully, I don't know which is which. But I guarantee Catherine does. Buuuuut, I'm not getting her up to ask her. No way.
Lastly, we have baby Julie (left) and baby Adam (right). Julie was also a gift from C's friend Daniel. The name Julie was readily adopted upon the suggestion of Peaches. So this one wasn't one she came up with entirely on her own. But doesn't she sound like she should be in her 40's or 50's? Ha! And Adam is our only boy baby doll. I'm not sure why exactly C decided he was a boy, except that he came in a blue outfit (but that was from a consignment sale, so who knows!) Anyway, he makes a creepy laugh when you squeeze him. I'm wondering how long the batteries will last. He ends up in girls' clothes most of the time anyway. He and Elliot Hippo should form a support group.
Is anyone still reading this? Is this a really boring blog post? Maybe, but like I said at the beginning, it's more for me to look back on.
Full disclosure: I had to clothe every single doll before photographing it. Why are the baby dolls ALWAYS NAKED????
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