A Toddler's Imagination

Addison's little imagination continues to WOW us every single day...the things that girl comes up with in her head -- ha!  Like most toddler girls, she loves her dolls and stuffed animals...plays with them, talks to them, sings and dances with them.   Most days as we run errands or go to swim lessons or whatever a doll or stuff animal also has to accompany us and gets buckled into the backseat of the car.  And of course she plays house and/or kitchen but her favorite things to play lately are airplane, basketball game and restaurant.

AIRPLANE...
Airplane typically involves mom or dad and Addison and both need to also be carrying a baby doll.  We get our tickets (which is play money from her cash register) and then Addison proceeds to "beep them" with the scan gun from the cash register -- a la handing our tickets to the gate agent as we board the plane.  She then pulls her chairs out from her coloring table and sets them up one in front of the other.  Mom or dad usually sits up from and Addison and baby sit behind.  We buckle our seat belts and then have to put our arms out and act like we are flying.  Of course, Addison decides when the flight is finished and we are allowed to unbuckle and put the babies back in the strollers.  Sometimes we then need to take the babies to play at the airplane park, which is what she likes to do at O'Hare...ha!  Girl travels too much!

BASKETBALL GAME...
Basketball game starts very much like airplane, Addison hands out tickets and then "beeps them" but while we are at the cash register she also takes out a little money for popcorn.  We then get her keys and hop on her balance bikes and ride around the first floor, ultimately ending up in front of the TV or her little basketball hoop.  The chairs come out from her coloring table again and are lined up so we have front row seats for the game.  We sit court side and enjoy our pretend popcorn...

RESTAURANT...
Restaurant is a big production!  We have to sit around the dinning room table and each seat needs to be occupied by someone or something...there are eight chairs!  So baby and dolly and duckie and mickey and kitty and so on and so on all get placed around the table...she does leave a spot for her and me.  She then gets her stool from the bathroom and takes it into the kitchen so she can see inside the utensil drawer and selects and spoon, fork and knife for each one of her friends.  And I have to get napkins out so she can set a proper place for everyone.  Once everyone has what they need Addison requests paper and pen (she has to settle for a crayon) so she can take orders.  Sometimes she scribbles down orders and sometimes I am requested to write but most often the orders are the same -- I order soup and water and the toys either order soup and water like me or a kids milk and beans are rice like her.  Thankfully she is content with drawing the line there and I don't have to fill-up water cups for everyone but I'm sure we are just days away from that request :)