Crocodiles!

Annie's latest thing is crocodiles. The house is apparently infested with them. They're in the tub, in the backyard, and especially in the dining room and kitchen when Annie doesn't feel like eating anymore. She hunches her shoulders up, shivers with pretend fear and says "Here comes a GREAT BIG CROCODILE."

The other day I was enjoying a nice peaceful lunch with Riley, sans crocodiles. Annie had already eaten and was now playing quietly in her room. It was so rare and precious that I almost didn't care what she was up to. But after 15 minutes of eerie silence a feeling of dread came over me - what was she up to? Or up on?

I opened her closed door (red flag!) to find this:

Every toy in the toy bins and every blanket from the closet was dumped on the floor. Or so I thought. But Annie had an explanation: she had made a crocodile! If you look carefully at the picture above, the head is at the far right and the body is the rest of the mess. She even put a blanket that has a zig-zag edge on the head for the crocodile's teeth. I didn't mind picking up that mess, I was laughing so hard.

Annie and a GREAT. BIG. CROCODILE!

She likes to play with this tub of lentils and hide her crocodile in it.