Nelly and Betty

I like soft toys. They're so cute and cuddly and were great company as an only child growing up (yeah I was the odd ball on the street). With a glut of left over bunnies, teddies and assorted stuffed animals from both our childhoods along with a menagerie of presents from family and frields, we felt sure that Eleanor would find a little play companion easily enough. We even tried to encourage a bond by keeping particular toys with her all the time. Pat the Cat appeared to be an early favourite until a rogue diaper incident left her with a persistent scent of urine.

Funny thing was, even after parades of potential candidates our daughter refused to show anything more than a passing interest in any toys other than books and Fisher Price gadgets with flashing lights. I rationalised it by explaining that she was obviously on a road to becoming an engineer and geek extraordinaire like her father, but really I thought it would be kind of cute for Nelly to have a best friend to carry around.

We were walking through a toy sale in June and as we passed through one of the aisles I grabbed a baby doll off the shelf to show Eleanor. I hadn't expected a reaction, certainly not the expression of joy that passed across her face as she reached and kicked to try and grab the doll. Of course we would have to buy it, which was how Betty Giggles came to the Chua household.

Upon arriving home we were assaulted by an unrelenting wail until mum could rip the packaging off the doll to give her to Eleanor. Betty treats anyone who hugs her to a stream of prerecorded laughter, something that Nelly thought was great fun.

Since then we've been waiting to see if Betty would be cast aside like so many before her. Nelly has been caring for her like her own baby and it's so cute to see her going through the motions of pushing her baby around in a pram, changing a diaper and feeding time.

I wouldn't say that they are inseperable yet, but it does seem like Betty's presence is at the very least being tolerated with most of Nelly's activities. It's always good to have a friend to play with when your parents are busy checking Facebook after all.

It's amazing to see Eleanor grow more each day. She seems to gain a few inches every time you turn around which has lead to a new level of baby proofing and vigilance. Her language skills continue to expand with new sounds, although nothing that I would officially classify as a word beyond those learnt by rote. She is able to understand far more sophisticated instructions and her repertoire of parlour tricks for pointing to various bits of anatomy when asked continues to entertain family and friends. That's assuming she's willing to play along of course. All this maturity comes with a trend that suggests that our daughter will fight tooth and nail if forced to do something that she doesn't want to.

So after a month with Betty we figure it's safe to say that it's not just a passing craze. Who knows how much longer the friendship will last, girls at this age seem so fickle. For now we're happy to encourage it as they look adorable together and we've discovered that Eleanor is a great mummy. I guess it helps when you have a fabulous role model.