A Trip to the Toy Store

Julia has been chomping at the bit for the past few days to go to the toy store and pick out a birthday present for Madeleine.  Despite my reassurances that we have plenty of time before Madeleine's birthday, Julia just couldn't seem to contain her desperation to go shopping.

What a generous big sister!

Or...as it turns out, what an artful, scheming mind Julia has.

JULIA: Mommy, please, please PLEASE can we just go to the toy store RIGHT NOW to get Madeleine's present?
ME: Julia, I don't understand.  Madeleine's birthday is still over a month away.  Why are you so insistent on going right now?
JULIA: Because I wanted to get a toy, TOO!

Ahhhh.  Makes a lot more sense now.

I did wind up taking Julia to the store today while Ethan stayed home with Madeleine, and lucky for both girls, I had just recently received money from Yiayia Megali specificially for birthday gifts for the kids.  So not only did Julia get to pick out a birthday gift for Madeleine, but she also got to use her $15 of birthday money to buy something for herself.

Julia opted for a new book and a set of Wow! Car figurines to go with her collection of cars, people and animals.  The newest figurines are RIGHT up her alley:

I know this will take a lot of mental effort, but can any of you readers wager a guess as to what Julia decided to name the wizard??

If anyone guessed Dumbledore, give yourself a big pat on the back.  YOU'RE RIGHT!!

Meanwhile, Madeleine's birthday money went towards her own Wow! Car figurines, which I had to pick out for her, since she was not with us, as well as a new board book.  Madeleine was THRILLED with her new Wow! Car friends:

Madeleine's North Pole figures; she named them Ginny (human) and Hermione (polar bear.)

Madeleine was equally enthralled with the pictures on the back of the packaging that the Polar friends came in, picking out which figurines she wants on her wish list for future birthday gifts.  At one point, she came running to me in delight to point out the Caveman/Dinosaur combo that she is coveting:

MADELEINE: (pointing at the caveman) Mama!  If I had THIS guy, I would name him JESUS!

Later in the afternoon, as she sat studying the various figurines displayed on the packaging, Madeleine brightly announced her latest observation.

MADELEINE: (enthusiastically) It looks like Jesus is digging for FOSSILS!

Ahh.  Here I thought Jesus was a caveman.  Turns out he's a paleontologist.

At any rate, once Madeleine had moved on from playing with her Wow! Car people and animals, she decided to play "Doctor" with Daddy, who was trying to take a nap on the couch.

Madeleine was able to demonstrate the proper, doctorly way to use a pair of tweezers:

Turns out I've been using them wrong all these years.  I always thought I was supposed to hold them in my hands and squeeze them together to remove splinters.  I had no idea until today that I was just supposed to dangle them from my nose and let them work their medicinal magic.  Good thing I have Doctor Madeleine to teach me new things.  I wonder if she got her scientific training from Paleontologist Jesus.