The Happy Family

Well, we have reached a new stage in the little sister wanting to be just like her bigger sister world.

Madeleine had the gall to ask Julia to bring the Mintz family (the imaginary family about which Julia thinks while she gallops through the house) to MADELEINE'S own imaginary My Little Pony Party.

JULIA: I can't bring the Mintz, Madeleine, because the Mintz only exist in my HEAD.
MADELEINE: Please, Julia?
JULIA: No, Madeleine.  They're in my IMAGINATION.
MADELEINE: Well, then I'll imagine about them too.

Oh.  No.  She.  Didn't.


JULIA: Maaaadeleine!  You CAN'T think about the Mintz!  They're MY imaginary family!
MADELEINE: Well Julia-
JULIA: No!  Madeleine!  They're MY-
ME: Julia, calm down.  What difference does it make?  If Madeleine is thinking about the Mintz, you won't even know about it, because it will only happen inside Madeleine's head.
JULIA: No.  Mommy!  I don't want Madeleine CHANGING things about the Mintz.  They're MY family!
ME: Julia, if Madeleine changes things in her own head, that doesn't affect what you imagine about.
JULIA: No!  MADELEINE!  They're MY family and I DON'T want you thinking about them!

A moment later, Julia was mildly sorry for her outburst.  Not sorry enough to allow Madeleine to breach the intellectual property rights of the Mintz family, though.

JULIA: (sullenly) Sorry, Madeleine.  (brightening) Madeleine, you can make up your OWN family to think about!
MADELEINE: (cheerfully) Okay!


So Madeleine dreamed up the Happy family.  She made a point to gallop today and think about them.  However, Madeleine tends to defy the general rule of Gallop Time, as she feels the need to update Julia on everything that's currently happening with the Happys.  Now, you may be thinking, Julia is constantly filling me in on the details of the Mintz, but here's the thing: she NEVER tells me about the Mintz while she's galloping.  That is her SACRED thinking time.  I hear all about the Mintz at other times of the day, but when Julia is galloping, she is deeply in her own head and does NOT welcome interruptions from the real world.  The closest she has ever come to divulging what she was imagining was in this instance:

JULIA: (galloping through the room)
ETHAN: (on Julia's return gallop) What are the Mintz up to today?
JULIA: (smiling sheepishly) STUFF.  (resuming her gallop)


Madeleine, however, made sure to tell Julia ALL ABOUT the Happys as she galloped.

MADELEINE: (thumpily galloping through the room, then stopping) So Julia.  There are THREE kids.  Well, there are kind of FOUR kids, but the fourth one is in his mommy's tummy still.  (galloping again, then stopping) And Julia?  They're gonna go to the hospital soon to get the baby out of the mommy's tummy, and ABBY is gonna go too.  (galloping again, then stopping) And Julia?  The baby is named TEDDY.

And so forth.

Madeleine even drew a picture of one of the Happy family members:

I don't know which Happy this is.  Madeleine doesn't keep me abreast of her imaginings, only Julia.


So anyway.  Great.  We now have both kids with imaginary families that they like to think about while galloping back and forth through the house.  As I said, Madeleine has taken her desire to imitate her big sister to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL.