Annie's World of Make-Believe

Annie has been into imaginative play for a long time, and it's something I really treasure about her. Lately, though, she's taken it to a whole new level. Recent scenarios that Annie has been acting out:

-Being Miss Colette, her previously-pregnant preschool teacher. Two mornings, now, she's emerged from her bedroom with Dinah stuffed up under her shirt. She sees me smiling questioningly in the hallway. "I'm Miss Colette," she whispers authoritatively. She later produces "baby Maya," who must sit at the breakfast table with us. (Yes, still with the "baby in my tummy" fantasy . . . )

-Re-enacting the entire book "Olivia and the Missing Toy." One of us is Olivia, one of us is Perry, the naughty dog who chewed up Olivia's favorite toy. Then we switch. Certain lines must be repeated, verbatim, from the book. This game can go on for 15 - 20 minutes, at least.

-Playing Candy Store. Pretending various items are candy, setting up an elaborate display, shopping for the candy, putting it all in our purse. If Jason is involved, she very often gets a piece of actual candy, which I think is the real attraction. (I am guessing this game began because she took her first trip to the Holland Peanut Store a few weeks ago . . . very dangerous.)

She has lots of other little diversions during the day: putting all her babies down for a nap; having a slumber party with her favorite dolls; "feeding" the ants outside by carefully placing a helicopter-seed-thingie on top of each anthill; changing into each dance outfit and insisting on dancing to the same song over and over ("Land Down Under" by Men at Work, random acoustic version by Colin Hay, which she inexplicably calls "The Merry-Go-Round Song!); blowing bubbles all by herself; watering the flowers; drawing pictures to send to her favorite people . . . lately, she has been almost entirely delightful. Is she getting nearer to that even-keeled four-year-old I keep reading and hearing about? I certainly hope so. In any case, between that and the start of her new-favorite activity, gymnastics, the summer is off to a great start.