dolly

Maia seems to be forming quite the bond with her "dolly"... a black doll that a friend picked up for her from the local thrift store.

She walks around the house with her -- or more accurately, drags her around the house.

She puts her to bed in the little crib that a friend generously crafted for her as a surprise Christmas present -- well, that is, when she's not putting herself in the tiny little crib.

She likes to take dolly's clothes off... and gets frustrated when she can't figure out why it's so difficult to dress herself in them. (Perhaps my daughter has doll envy?)

And last night when she started to get sleepy (after the routine laps around the kitchen table a half an hour before bed) she found that the silk panties on the doll do just fine as a substitute for the silk-edged blanket that instigates an immediate Pavlov-like response -- thumb in mouth and sleepy eyes!

I had heard that little people were a great source of entertainment in the home, but I couldn't have dreamed up the things she does that make us laugh.

Maia, you're our doll.