Julia...

...has such a well developed imagination that, if I am being honest here, could be considered, borderline genius.

There are many examples which I could point out but one today struck me as quite remarkable. She was in the living room, pretending it was a beach. She does this quite frequently, although it is not always the beach. Sometimes it's the park, sometimes it's the Jungle Gym (a local kids gym where Emily and Katherine took gymnastics). When it's the beach, she (or we) usually sit on the floor, digging in the sand (which doubles as a rug). She will point out other items and pretend they are something else. Pointing to a ball, she will say, "Look at that seashell!" When it's the park, we sit in our rocking chairs and pretend they are swings, or she will sit on the couch and slide off, pretending it is a slide. When it's the Jungle Gym, she sets up an obstacle course and literally walks around giving directions ("First step on the pillow, then walk around the table"etc.).

Anyway, today she was playing beach. She had all of her stuffed animals out there with her and was pretending they were at the beach with her. I was busy in the office trying to get some things done when she walked in and said gravely, "Mom, we have a problem in the water." When I asked her what the problem was she said, "My friends want to dance slow in the water like this (picture her slowly shaking her hips) and I want to dance in the water fast like this (cue to fast hip shaking)." I played along and said, "Well, what do you think we should do?" She paused, contemplated for a moment and said, "I know, how about we take turns!" I told her that I thought that would be a great idea.

Then tonight, while she was chilling with Ryun on the recliner, she was using his two pointer fingers as puppets, completely of her own accord. Not only was she moving his fingers around, but she was going back and forth talking, making it sound like a conversation.

I love how she can use her imagination so vividly, and so dramatically that she can even make up problems and come up with ideas and ways to solve them. It's a fascinating thing to watch. Emily was world famous for her imagination as a toddler (well not world famous but you get the point). I think Julia is going to take the cake on this one though. The above examples are just a few of many. She truly is remarkable.