Meet Sally Gingerbread

To say Maren is full of personality would be a huge understatement. As she grows older, her imagination and personality continue to develop, and it's often pretty hilarious to listen to what she comes up with. A great example is her stuffed animal dog.

The dog was actually mine when I was a child. It was my beloved puppy. In fact, my mother tells me that "puppy" was my first word, thanks to this stuffed animal. She didn't keep a ton of my childhood items, but since it was so special to me when I was young, she kept it. When we were in Texas this past winter, Maren found the puppy and asked to bring it home with her.

It wasn't until recently that Maren named the dog. Up until a few months ago, it was simply her doggie. But one day she came to us and said "This is my doggie. Her name is Sally Gingerbread." Really? Sally Gingerbread? I have no idea where she came up with the name. But we love it. Totally Maren. And if we accidentally call her just Sally, Maren is quick to correct: "no, it's Sally Gingerbread. Not Sally".

Sally is a favorite toy, but Teddy and Blanket are still her favorites. She doesn't sleep with Sally Gingerbread like she does Teddy and Blanket, but often we have to find a special place for Sally to sleep at night. Sometimes it's the closet, sometimes it's Warner's room. One night she insisted Sally sleep on the rug in our entry way. You just never know with Maren.

Warner has yet to attach himself to something like Sally, Teddy, or Blanket. He takes toys around with him most places we go, but it's generally a different toy each time. It's probably for the best. Keeping up with Maren's stuff is hard enough. For a while it was a different toy car that Warner took with him everywhere. The other day Warner told me he "wasn't really into cars anymore". What is he into then, you might wonder? Superheros. All things Superhero.

Warner also loves coloring. He colors nearly every day, and is pretty darn good at it if I do say so myself. So you can imagine his delight when we were at Kroger (of all places) and they were handing out Avengers coloring pages. We scooped up a stack of the pages and decided to have a coloring party that night.

Kevin had recently bought a crayon tower that the kids are wild about. Add some popcorn and jammies and this little family was in heaven. Superheros, Sally Gingerbread stuffed animals, coloring ... my kids might be quirky, but they sure are the best.