Bag Lady

That's what Aimee has become. All day long, she walks back and forth dilegently rearranging her collection of things, transfering them from a tote bag, to her shopping cart, and back into a different tote bag. We try to keep all of her toys in "stations" around the house. She has a toybox next to the window in the family room, an entire corner in the living room, a big toybox in her bedroom, and her shopping cart is never far away. Having these designated stations makes it easier to retreive important non-toy items she's collected throughout the day such as keys, cell phones, and remotes, tupperwear lids. Yesterday I accidently stumbled upon a secret hiding place where she keeps her real treasures. In her Disney Princess oven I found: 1 cell phone belonging to me, her brand new sandals that she carried around the house for 2 days, a baby doll, a blankie, a tiny little stuffed dog that She and Remmy fight over, a days old sippy cup of juice.

A few days ago, she decided to fill the new tote bag that Mrs Simpson gave her with the easter bunny themed Mr. Potato Head body parts that she received from Brian's cousin Mona. She walked around the house ALL DAY holding on to the bag as if it contained the presidential nuclear codes. Come naptime I had to wrestle the bag away from her because she's a wild sleeper and would have managed to put HERSELF in the bag in her sleep if I hadn't taken it away. She cried as if I had just taken away her first born.

The What to Expect The Toddler Years book says that it's normal behavior and that having collections of things is an ego boost and helps them feel more control over their world. I agree with the book and I'll enable her little addiction for now... at least until we start to run out of tote bags to stuff things in.