How does the imagination develop? How does a baby learn to pretend? I’m not sure but it’s amazing to watch…
Here, Anneliese was wrapping Joey’s “baby” in a burp cloth as a blanket. Then she pretended to nurse the baby. After that, she folded another burp cloth on the floor as a bed, and lay the baby down on it and said “night!” I mean, I know where she learned those things, but what clicked in her brain to tell her to mimic those actions as “the mama”?
And here, her wooden duck is nursing… on her toy car’s headlight, which apparently is a good enough nipple for a wooden duck. Anneliese said “nurse! nurse!” while carefully lining up the beak with the headlights.
And obviously the car needs a driver… so she stuffed this mouse into the handle of it before pushing it around the coffee table.
A friend sent us this wooden shoe toy, and even though it’s clearly not a shoe, Anneliese understands that it represents a shoe. And she tried to put it on her foot, while giggling between announcements of “ssshhhhhoe! feet!”
And back to her “little mother” instincts, after carrying her baby doll around in her boba mini for a while, she took it out and strapped it into her high chair (she’s very good at buckling buckles!) while announcing “ssstak!” (snack)
Here, she’s carefully stirring stuffed tomatoes in a pot. She brought me one in her toy ladle when her soup was done, to taste.
And just before I took this picture, she had been feeding spoonfuls of dried coconut to Sophie the giraffe, saying “ahhhh” and then making *CHOMP* noises as she touched the spoon to Sophie’s nose.
I’m really not sure how the imagination develops, but I’m loving every moment of getting to witness it. And I’m so glad (and proud) for the sweet, nurturing behaviors Anneliese is showing in her pretend-play. It makes me feel like my husband and I must be doing something (or a lot of somethings) right.
Hi! I'm Emily. I'm a Navy wife and stay at home mom of two beautiful children. I cook simple, delicious, grain-free recipes, do crafts, decorate my home on a budget, and keep a happy household. I tandem breastfeed, babywear, cloth diaper, practice elimination communication, homebirth, and co-sleep, but I'm not a hippie.
Imagination is my favorite ‘milestone’ – I was more excited when Sebastian started playing with dolls than when he took his first steps! Lately he has been hopping around as a frog and it makes me squee! We had a playdate the other day and the other toddler was a cat so we had a cat and a frog running around – Too much fun! It is really interesting to me too, how it develops naturally.
Donny and I laughed out loud at Anneliese having her duck nurse on headlights!
Such a little mama!! My niece is like that at 3 years old, it’s so fun to see. Also?? Clara has those horse pajamas too. I think we shop at the same places
This is amazing. I can’t wait until my son can do this. He’s actually started to pretend to feed us his food. I thought it was a little early for it, but one day I pretended to eat a pea and since then he pretends to feed me and my husband and laughs hysterically. It is so fun watching them develop.
you guys are doing a great job! Anneliese seems so sweet. (I love the dress in the bottom pic too!)