{"id":1404,"date":"2006-08-19T08:25:00","date_gmt":"2006-08-19T12:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kissmyknits.com\/?p=1404"},"modified":"2006-08-19T08:25:00","modified_gmt":"2006-08-19T12:25:00","slug":"annaliese-and-the-butterflies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kissmyknits.com\/?p=1404","title":{"rendered":"Annaliese and the Butterflies."},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

The other day, I was at Michael’s<\/a> with my daughter, picking out paint to paint more fish on her walls. Her walls are blue, with yellow sand at the bottom, and sea life painted by family members and friends. Over time, some of the blue paint has scraped off next to her bed, and she’s been wanting to repaint there. We don’t have that exact color anymore, so I suggested we paint some fish over the spots instead. In spite of how keen she was in the imagining stage, she was interested in the painting phase for about two minutes before wandering off and playing with her toys. Repainting these walls is going to be a bear when it’s time to redecorate, but she loves the new fish (and starfish and jellyfish and seaweed and turtle) next to her bed, so it’s a small price to pay.<\/p>\n

I’ve also started putting her to work doing regular kid stuff lately. For instance, I needed ink for my Jayne hat box stamps, but I picked up a pad with no bar code. So at the register, I told my daughter, “Emily, could you put this back where we got it and get another one exactly like it and bring it back?” She wandered out of sight with it and came immediately back with an identical one. Excellent! This kid’s finally earning her keep!<\/p>\n

I’d let her go down another aisle while I picked up a bottle of paint, and when I got to the register, I found a plastic generic Barbie-type doll in my basket. Hmm.<\/p>\n

Me: <\/i> “Emily, where did this doll come from?”
\nEmily:<\/i> “I put her in. We need to get her.”
\nMe: <\/i> “But she doesn’t have any clothes.”
\nEmily:<\/i> “You can knit her some!”<\/p>\n

I’m doomed. Too cute, and the doll’s, like, a buck. And the thing is, she’s right, I can<\/i> knit the doll some clothes. And I’m flattered by her faith in my ability to do anything, because I’m Mommy. So we got the doll. I know I can’t knit her some clothes as quickly as my daughter wants, but I’ve got some extra fabric lying around. She picks the pink.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a>Behold the reason I knit instead of sew. I eyeball the fabric, find some pink thread, cut out a rough design and fire up the sewing machine. And so, I give you the very latest in hospital-gown chic! It is sewn near the bottom, and has a snap in the middle of the back to preserve a little modesty. I thought this was going to be a temporary thing, so I just threw it together, but she’s so taken with it that I think it’s her permanent outfit now.<\/p>\n

And the thing is, she LOVES this doll. She named her Annaliese, and came up a story about her which she calls “Annaliese and the Butterflies.” It’s completely made up, about how Annaliese wanted to go to school, and the butterflies would follow her, and then she’d go home again with the butterflies. She even wrote up a title page for the story. Annaliese now has make-believe sisters, their numbers swelling from one to three so far. So Annaliese takes her sisters Catherine, Lucy, and Amy to school and has to take care of them, and Lucy and Catherine like to play dolls but Amy likes to read… it’s all very elaborate. It’s been a week and Annaliese and her sisters are still having adventures with the butterflies.
\n
\nI could not be happier that I got the doll. That’s a lot of playing for a dollar, and I get the entertainment of hearing Annaliese and the Butterflies. Good times.
\n
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