September 14, 2006
Welcome to Animal Planet
Finally – I think I’ve redeemed myself after the pink blazer fiasco. Today things started getting really cold, so we brought out the big coats for the girls. Having learned my lesson from before, I decided to run the idea by Maggie-Vera before I started draping her in fake fur. When I pulled out the little leopard-print coat she fell in love. Her little eyes lit up, and she actually hugged the coat. She was perfectly happy to dress herself in that! I tried to put the matching hat on, but I was thinking it was just going to be too small. She loved the hat though, so she wiggled it and pulled on it until it fit her perfectly. There’s a mirror in our playroom, and after she got both pieces on she stood in front of the mirror staring at herself, whispering something. Azel tried to get close enough to hear what she was saying, but when either of us got close she’d just look up and smile.
I’m not altogether sure Ryn-Alina was quite as excited by her coat, but I’m also not all that sure she really cares. As you can see from the pictures, Ryn-Alina is a little giraffe – complete with a little tail on the back of the jacket. (Thanks Jillian!) All of her friends and the caregivers love the jacket and make a big fuss about her in it, but I don’t think she understands that it’s supposed to be a giraffe. When we were looking in the mirror she started that funny little bark of hers again. I think she thinks it’s a sabaka (dog). Hey – if that makes her happy, then I guess we can pretend that giraffes bark.
We played outside for a while until it started to rain. Once we were back in the playroom Ryn-Alina was ready to get down and run, so we took off the giraffe/dog coat and let her go. Maggie-Vera, however, was still not through with her primping for the day. She didn’t care how warm it was in the room – she wasn’t giving up the coat. When it was time for us to leave I had to promise that I’d bring the coat back the next day for her to wear. All these little talking and singing and bouncing toys, and what does she love? A coat. Heaven helps us – she is her mother’s daughter!!
