A Boy, His Cars and His Blankies

James has loved cars and tractors since he was a baby. Before James joined our family, we had two or three Matchbox cars for Ella. Once James expressed interest in them, our collection began to grow. Now, it is quite common for me to dig two, three or more from the depths of my purse or diaper bag to entertain James while we are out on an adventure. He loves to play with the cars at home, too. And recently, he has started to do a lot of pretend play with his cars. Mark and I think this is hilarious! Why, you ask? Ella has been playing with her baby dolls a lot. She has found a new interest in her dolls since several of our friends are expecting babies within the next few weeks. James has been watching Ella with her dolls and has adopted some of her mothering habits. The only difference is that James has been treating his cars like babies. He gives them rides in the doll buggy and covers them while they are "parking" so they can sleep. He also is very particular about parking his cars. He will spend what seems like endless amounts of time lining his cars up in a very neat row. It is so fun to watch him play and explore. And, Mark and I can't help but chuckle when we walk into a room and find a row of cars. It is a sure sign that James has been playing there. Giving his "babies" a ride.

Covering his tractor in the corner so it can sleep.

Cars that are "parking"

Here is a video of James tending to his sleeping cars. I love how he has to whisper when he lets me peek under the blankets to see the cars.

Another common theme in many of the pictures is the presence of his beloved blankies. He has four blankets that he loves to carry around, sleep with and play with. Two are his "softies" (the ones with little tags that I designed and my mom sewed) and two are his soft and silky blankies. If we are lucky, we can leave home with only one in tow. If he had his way, we'd travel everywhere with all four. On Wednesday, I met up with a bunch of fun moms and we went for a walk on a local trail while our older children were at art camp. When I got back to the school, I realized that James' softie did not make the return journey with us. At lunch time, I got to do our long walk again by myself to recover the lost blanket. I found it a good mile down the trail at the point in our walk where the need for animal crackers must have overshadowed the need for his blankie. I got a lot of exercise on Wednesday, but thanks to my recovery efforts, James took a great nap!