Imagination

I think that one of the best things about being a child is having an active imagination. Think about it... no cares in the world and the ability to create whatever world you want to live in by simply pretending! What could be better? I have been blessed with a child with an awesome imagination. Andrew can turn a simple conversation into a long winded tale. Bath time is not a simple wash of the hair, but instead it's time well spent with many imaginary friends, talking bathtub letters, the jolly green giant and many other characters!

As you saw from the "boat" video, a cardboard box is a ton of fun! Just today I saw Andrew in a little plastic bin (used to hold his blocks) holding a fishing pole from his "Let's Go Fishing" game. Yeah - he was in the ocean... fishing. (Can you tell he likes the water with all of this boat talk?) Today we were going to the grocery store and his Rocket suitcase came with us (Rocket from the Little Einsteins). Well, in order to keep from having to take Rocket into the store with us, we pretended he was protecting Mommy's car from Big Jet. (You have to see it to get it).

On Saturday afternoon we took Andrew to a new place that opened near us "Imaginations at Play". That store name described my son to a "T". Keith and I took him there about an hour before it closed and he had a blast. There was a veterinarian clinic, a bubble bath area, a sand castle, train town, an art area, a farmers market, a movie stage and a musical tree. The place wasn't huge, but it was cute enough to keep Andrew busy for a while.

I was a customer at Andrew's farmer's market and Andrew served us hot dogs and hamburgers and a ham and cheese sandwich. We sat in the music tree and played with some bells, a keyboard, a guitar and some drums. He did the "Hot Dog" dance (from Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse) on the movie stage and we played in the sand. It was a blast and I hear there is a place about 20 minutes away that is so much bigger and full of many more imagination stations!

I think my favorite part of the entire thing was watching my biggest boy with my littlest boy - that would be Keith and Andrew. :-) They had so much fun and I even managed to catch a smile on Andrew's face AND take a picture (gasp!). They played with the trains and the sand and one of my favorite pictures was of them painting together.

So... some pictures!

Those of you waiting for your kiddos to come home this year... pretend! Imagine! Once you have your little one, it sometimes seems so "annoying" to have to pretend, but in reality it's you're child growing (and it helps fight temper tantrums and meltdowns). Andrew grows each and every day. His vocabulary, his expressions - you name it! I'm trying to step back and be grateful for this fun stage because there will be a time when he doesn't want to pretend and it will be "dumb" (can you tell I've been through the teenage years already?!?!?!).

Andrew has been very, very snuggly lately. Both Keith and I have noticed a lot of hugs and kisses being initiated on his side. Each time he gets out of the car he wants "loves" (us to pick him up and hug on him). He also has started giving compliments. "I love your hair clip, mama and I love your hair." "I like your shirt, dad.", etc, etc... It's a new side of Andrew we haven't seen yet. I suppose it's another step in attachment - something we've really taken for granted with Andrew!

Speaking of imagination... Imagine being in New Zealand, standing on a 120 foot bridge and bungee jumping! Yep - that's what my darling, dearest Alex did just the other day.

Happy over the hump day!

Becky