... to have a couple of girls like her...

... is truly a dream come true...

"Let's play horthie..."
"Yeah, and this bowl is our water trough...."

"Pretend!"

This is a common suggestion/command from K and from L these days. For which both M and I are grateful. We're big believers in imagination and imaginative playing. And we've arrived at some magical point where the girls are willing and able to play amongst themselves, pretending and creating games with horses, dolls, buckets of grass ("hay"), towels, legos, horses, the plastic "kitchen," pots and pans, playdoh, horses.... you get the idea.

What's funny about this though, is that frequently the command "pretend" is an instruction to do whatever it is that they are already doing.

K: Are we still playing horses?
L: Yeah!
K: Ok, pretend that I'm the horse and you're the owner.
L (pouting): I want to be the horth!
K: No! I'm the horse!
me (starting dinner): Why don't you both be the horses? And I can be the owner.
L: Yeah, and Momma is the annana owner.
K: And we're in the stable and I'm the black stallion and you can't ride me.
L: Yeah, you can't ride us. And pretend we're on the floor.
me: Ok, you're on the floor.
L: Pretend!
me: Right. Pretend! And you're the black stallion. What about you L?
L: I.... I'm the wild stallion too!
me: Ok.
K: And pretend you're married to the annana owner, and...
me: You mean Momma?
K: Yeah, and you're married and you both own us
L: Yeah, you both own us, and pretend you're married.
me: Ok. I can manage that.
K: And pretend I'm hungry but I don't want to eat.
L: Yeah, pretend we're hungry.
me: I'm still pretending I'm married to your mother.
K: You can do both.
me: Oh, ok!
M (walking in): Hey guys. How're you?
me: We're pretending. They're horses and you and I are the owners. And we're pretending they're on the floor and that we're married!
M: You and me?
me: Married. Not on the floor. They're on the floor. Pretend.
K: Yeah, and I'm the wild stallion.
L: And I'm the wild stallion too.
me: Wait, I thought you were the black stallions?
K: We're both.
L: Yeah, we're the wild stallion and the black stallion too.
me: And we're married.
M: Yeah?
me: Yeah. You have to pretend.
M: I suppose....
me (cutting carrots): And pretend that I'm cutting up carrots.
L: Yeah, and I'm in the stable but I want to get out.
K: We want to get out because we're wild.
me: Because you're the wild stallions.
K: Yeah.
L: Yeah!
me (opening the oven): And pretend that I'm opening the oven.
K: Ok.
L: Ok.
M (giving me an odd look): Uh...
me: PreTEND!
M: Ok!
me (starting to set the table): And pretend that I'm starting to set the table and dinner is almost ready, so if anyone needs to change out of work clothes or go to the bathroom before they eat, they should go now.
M: Uh, Pretend?
me: Yeah!
K: Yeah!
L: Yeah!!