I like a lot of things about my daughter. I like that she's self-confident ("I am so pretty mommy"), I like that she tells a good joke, I like that she tells it like it is, but one of the things I like most about her, is her imagination.

Last summer, for weeks on end, we had to call her Mickey Mouse. Starting in October or November, she was Penny (Penny from the movie Bolt). Recently our family is the gang from Scooby-Doo. She is Daphne, I am Velma (or Melma as she says), my husband is Shaggy, her stuffed dog Bolt, is Scooby-Doo and some imaginary dude is Fred. She enters a room and announces "Melma, Shaggy, we have a mystery on our hands." Usually we're looking for the Creeper or the Witchy Witch, and we often find the evil-doer in a closet. We then pull the mask off the bad guy and discover who was behind the mystery. It never gets old to her.

Last Thursday after I picked Audrey up from school, I had to make a few phone calls to my bank (the real evil-doers in this story). I told Audrey to go in her playroom and play nicely by herself for a little bit. When I came downstairs, this is what I found.

This configuration was originally a school bus that was taking all the kids to school. It then became the school itself and Audrey was the teacher. I asked why the teacher didn't sit in front of the class and she told me that all the kids weren't listening so they had to face the other way. Makes sense, I suppose. Later that day the chairs became the seats at a movie theater where they were all enjoying a screening of "Hotel For Dogs" along with bowls of pretend popcorn and chocolate shakes. In the evening it was the Polar Express that was taking them all to meet Santa.
The chairs seen in the picture go with the new white table she received as a Christmas gift. The table was set up in the playroom for her to work on puzzles, color, and set up some of her Barbie Dolls. I think the table has been used once to color, a couple times for puzzles, and never for Barbies. The table has been a fort, a place for the babies to have a tea party, and as a stepping stool to get on top of her play cottage.
Perhaps Danzae Peace said it best. "I think the world really boils down to two types of people-those who see shapes in cloud formations, and those who just see clouds." I think my dear Audrey sees shapes, many, many shapes, and I happen to like that about her.