My Baby's Baby

Laura is too young to be tied down. For example, those beads I wrote about a while back have faded into the background, only occasionally dug out for brief moments at a time. Although I do think she remains fond of accessories, as she has taken to carrying the sparkly pink Hello Kitty purse (in a photo below) almost everywhere we go. The monkey lovey that I thought had secured a spot in her heart, particularly when the first one went missing and I needed to buy a second one, has long been gathering dust in the corner of her crib.

And yet I will venture to say that I think she might be my baby doll kid. I loved dolls, and played with mine a lot. For many years. I am still bummed when I think about Cara, my Cabbage Patch Kid, succumbing to mold in the sub-basement of my parents' house. And while Clare is very into her American Girl dolls right now, this is a relatively recent interest that is very different than playing mommy to a baby doll. In fact, the baby doll she was given when she was about Laura's age really never got much play...until she was handed over to Laura, that is.

She sleeps with her, and always ensures we bring "Baby's" bottle to bed, too.

She pushes her in the stroller Santa brought, though often abandons her mid-walk.

She feeds her "coffee" and then stores the cup in her purse.

When I found this picture, I realized that this doll has been in Laura's life from the beginning. It'll be interesting to see how long the relationship lasts.