Imagination and Emotion at Work

Kirstin is now 2 years old and imagination is growing at this age, so books, stories, and make-believe play are getting more interesting to her. And Kirstin likes to play the mother role to her baby dolls! She mimics me! Haha! She likes this interactive doll her Ninang Cristy bought her one day. It cries to tell you she's hungry and she just loves that! I've read that this leap forward of imagination means that new fears, worries, and anxieties may start to pop up. Dreams and nightmares are evidence of the hard work your child is doing to put her exciting world in order. But so far, Kirstin is not afraid of anything! I guess we trained her well during the halloween! Haha! She's a little more hesitant in new situations though than she was a few months ago, but she'll also be more interested in trying out her interactive skills with new people once she warmed up to them.

Awareness of people's feelings is something that she's showing more profoundly at this age too. She has a fine-tuned antenna for even subtle changes in my responses and moods. And it was a sweet surprise to see her changed suddenly from an "all about me" toddler to someone who would give me a hug when she sees me crying while watching a soap opera (hehe!), or kiss her grandma's booboo when she bumped her knee on something and asked her if it feels better, or befriend a stranger when we do our summer walks around the neighborhood.