Madeleine Plays Babies

Madeleine is in the throes of a very involved game of baby dolls:

She's the mommy, and these are all her little kids, who accompanied her on vacation to the south, because Madeleine had to go to the south to visit her friend "Felicity, who is Julia but Julia's really at school."  (I had the opportunity to be Felicity, but believe it or not, I passed it up, so the role fell to the absent Julia.)


Madeleine prepared for this vacation by "folding laundry," aka folding at least five different baby blankets (and let me tell you: Madeleine can actually fold!  Maybe she will become my REAL laundry folding helper sometime in the near future!  Unlike Julia, who likes to help me fold but winds up balling the clothes into crooked lumps inistead.) 

 Mad's mad folding skillz

In addition, Madeleine dressed her babies in coats, diapers, and hats, packed up the play diaper bag, and even got our spare booster seat from the downstairs hallway to use in transportation.  No matter that the booster seat is actually intended for real children ages 4-8; Madeleine just took advantage of its girth and fit multiple baby dolls atop it!

Madeleine also spent at least an hour wearing the hood of her spring jacket over her head, all as part of the game.

ME: Honey, do you want to put your hood down?
MADELEINE: Uh, NO, because it's gonna be RAINING on my vacation.  Mama.  FIRST it's a really nice day, but then it STARTS to rain so I need my hood.

Madeleine in the "rain."

It sounds like vacation was a real blast for the babies.  I interviewed their mother while they were in the midst of playing together.

ME: Madeleine, what are the babies doing?
MADELEINE: Uh..."Find the Crown."
ME: Oh.  So will you tell me about what you're doing on vacation with your babies?
MADELEINE: So, like, the babies have to try to find the crown, and...and...and...one of the babies...so, the babies all talk, and one of the babies said "I found the crown!" and SNEAKED it past the witch that took the crown.

Ooh la la, what an exotic vacation activity!  I know that whenever *I* go on vacation, my favorite thing to do is to sneak a crown past the witch that took the crown.  Let the good times roll!