Of purses and babies...the key to babyhood bliss...

This last Sabbath, we had 10 people over for Sabbath dinner. The center of the show, however, was little 15 month old Faith (pictured here). Prior to her arrival, I packed my special children's purse (a large purse with many pockets) with all sorts of goodies--miniature doll, key chain, large plastic spoon, odometer, eraser, and a few other random trinkets. I surreptitiously placed the purse in a location she was sure to discover.

In a few minutes, Faith found the purse. First, she studied it VERY carefully (is this REALLY for me to play with, or is it a trick?). Then, she cautiously lifted the flap. Next, she awkwardly pulled the first item out. A SPOON! What fun! What a 15 month old can't do with a spoon I leave you to try and come up with. First, she waved it around like a choir conductor. Then she shook it at some imaginary assailant, boring with this she banged it very hard on the floor (this behavior was cut short as it interfered with boring grown up conversation). No longer with a spoon to play with, she once more explored the contents of the purse. Ah-ha, a odometer. That looks just like daddy's pager. I've always wanted to take that thing apart. It's amazing how quickly a 15 month old can pull off the tiniest parts and discover the battery. Alas, this too had to be shortened to prevent her from ingesting the not so edible battery.

Back to the purse. This time she found the miniature doll. Now this doll is special-it's a squishy doll. She wasn't quite sure what to do with that. Dolls aren't supposed to be squishy. I guess that was too weird, because the doll was quickly discarded and the purse re explored for more treasures. Oh my, what is this, a huge clip (one of my chip bag clips). How fun is that. Apparently lots of fun for a 15 month old. She waved it, and threw it, and tried to open it, and close it, and basically spent 10 or 15 minutes exploring that one amazing toy.

In the meantime, the spoon was returned to the contents of the purse, and Faith squealed with delight when she rediscover her favorite toy. For the next hour or so, she delighted in going from the clip to the spoon (intermittently the spoon was removed when she became over vigorous in banging it on the hard wood floor). I was so amazed to see how simple a toy can entertain a child literally for hours!

-Rachel