Elsie-ology: sometimes a monkey is just a monkey

Interpretation of Dreams: Over the weekend, upon waking up, we asked Elsie how she slept and if she had any dreams. Friday night she told us she dreamed about monkeys. Saturday night she dreamed about naked babies. What would Freud make of that?

Conflict Mediation: Whenever Daddy raises his voice about work, about the world, or about his wife, Elsie becomes very agitated and tells Daddy "shhhhh go night night, Daddy. Go to bed. You tired. Go night night." She is doing wonders for our marriage.

Diagnosing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: One day Elsie got dirty on the playground. She had to ride in her stroller that way and I told her it was ok that kids got dirty sometime. She asked if Daddy got dirty when he was little. I answered yes. She then asked about everyone she knew--Nonie, Grammy, Johnny.... Oscar, Rocky.... It provided her some solace, I think, to imagine all these dirty babies running around.

Facing One's Fears: So, Elsie has never really liked people dressed up in big costumes--Jake at Salty Dog, clowns, Santa. And there may be some wisdom in such phobias... But this weekend Elsie overcame that one with a vengeance at the Savannah Children's Book Festival. There she got to hug Arthur, Corduroy, and that literary great, the Chick-fil-a cow. She wanted to hug Stellaluna the bat even--but Stellaluna must have been having a bad day and didn't get that being at a children's festival in costume meant hugging was part of the job. We'll see how this carries over at the Wiggles show tonight and seeing Santa at the Salty Dog next week...