Meet Stripey

I forewarn you that this post will probably be interesting to very few of you but it is one that made my little Julia SO happy and one of those little things in life that I know if I don't take the time to record it, I will forget it.

Julia and I always get a minute alone after Audrey goes down for a nap and right before Julia goes down for quiet time. We usually sit on her bed and read a few books together, just the two of us. As I was sitting on her bed I noticed her stuffed animals surrounding me. I had this image flash in my mind, several years in the future, digging in an old box finding these stuffed animals and racking my brain as to what Julia called them. I decided then and there I would write down Julia's descriptive explanation of each of her animals so she and I will never forget. I know it sounds silly but they really have been an important part of her life up to this point.

Her very most favorite is a stuffed animal named Stripey. I find it fascinating how a stuffed animal that we found in the basement of my mom's house (who knows where it came from) has taken on this identity. It has morphed into this personality all from Julia's little imagination. She has a stash she has collected for Stripey consisting of a makeshift leash, a bowl, clothes, hair bows, head bands, bottles, blankets, etc. She always has Stripey on some bed of pillows or I'll find Julia asleep with Stripey strategically placed on her stomach. My favorite is when she commissions Audrey to "babysit" Stripey. I'll hear her giving Audrey specific instructions as to what to feed Stripey and what time she needs to go to bed. Stripey is often found in doll clothes with a flower or headband on her head.
It's insanity but then again I love seeing the imaginative mind at work.
Here's what Julia said about Stripey in her own words (I must tell you that she took this interview VERY seriously. She was just so thrilled that her little friends were important enough to grace the family blog):
"Stripey is my favorite. She is soft and I love her and she doesn't bite and she doesn't chase mice. (Though I have heard Julia threatening Audrey that she indeed WILL bite her if she dares touch Stripey one more time.) She likes to eat bone soup but loves tomato soup and cat noodles.

Julia's other very favorite stuffed animal is Princess Pink Snowflake (yes she does come up with all of her own names.)
"I love Princess Pink Snowflake because she makes a noise, she's a girl and you can wave her horn. She's got stars and stripes and unicorns are my favorite."
Oh you may be thinking that the stuffed animal collection ends there but you would be wrong, wrong indeed. Little did you know that Stripey has two sisters and two brothers.
"Snowball is fluffy. (Actually I think the word would be matted and nasty but fluffy works too). You can call her a garbage kitty because she likes to eat garbage. I love her because she has blue eyeballs just like Audrey. She has one very long tooth but she wont bite you unless you put your finger in her mouth. Then she might bite you. But she never bites me."

"Pinky Pie is Stripey's sister too. She is wonderful because she has a little bandaid and she's my favorite pony. Her favorite thing to eat is hay."

"Baby Bear is Stripey's brother. He is my favorite because he has a little bow and he loves to ride on Pinky Pie."

"Bolt I like because I can pretend he's flying with his ears. I can walk him with the leash I made for Stripey."

Yes I can see that Stripey is a cat and her brothers are a dog and bear and her sisters are a pony and a cat. Julia is not a discriminator of species.