Tinkerbell invaded our house

Caitlyn is one of the most creative kids I've ever met. Some days she is pretending to own a restaurant, some days she plays school, some days she is going on an airplane ride with her imaginary friends- you name it, and I bet she has acted it out!  Her play is also very elaborate. If she is on an airplane, she will have tickets (just pieces of paper), a magazine, a seat, headphones and she wants to eat a snack out of a package, just like on the plane.  

I love watching her play, especially for these two reasons:  1. She takes me back to my own childhood- I remember how much fun it is to act out the world around you.  2. It is just thrilling to watch her little personality at work. In her play, she imitates a lot of what she sees, but she throws in little twists to make everything her own.

After our Disney trip last week, she has taken to playing Tinkerbell. It began with a little plastic ice cube that we got at one of the restaurants at Disneyland. It glows all sorts of colors, one of which is green. Caitlyn carried this glowing, green plastic cube around for days, insisting that it was Tinkerbell, all the while singing, "You can fly, you can fly, you can flllllyyyyyy!"

Just as with any game she plays, it became more and more elaborate. First, bubbles in the bathtub became pixie dust. Then, she dug a fairy costume out of the dress up box, so she could be one of Tinkerbell's friends. Finally, she requested that I do her hair just like Tinkerbell. Anyone who knows 2 year olds knows that there is some sort of magic at work when you can get one to sit still long enough to fashion a bun! Of course, after I finished the bun, Caitlyn informed me that it wasn't quite right- I did not make bangs, and Tinkerbell, if you didn't know, has bangs.  Sigh.

However, even without bangs, my little fairy was thrilled with her hair. So thrilled, in fact, that she has requested Tinkerbell hair the last three mornings. After her hair is done, she grabs her magic wand and flies through the house singing in her sweet little girl voice. 

Did I mention I love to watch her play?