"Hug a Mannequin"

Of all Julia's little quirks, perhaps the most quirky is her interest in hugging mannequins at stores. It all started before Julia was really talking. I took her to Old Navy for a shopping trip, and she got very excited when she saw the mannequins. She started saying, "Hug! Hug!" So, I took her to the little girl mannequin, and Julia gave her a big hug.

Every trip to a store thereafter, she was insistent upon hugging the mannequins (even the ones with no heads). It's never a quick errand to shop with a toddler, but all this hugging really slowed us down. I think "mannequin" was Julia's first three syllable word. Now, she announces (or demands), "Hug a mannequin!"

I think the funniest moment was when we were in Toronto and giving my mother a driving tour. We were driving down a major shopping street, and Julia spotted some mannequins in a store window. She perked right up, and exclaimed, "Want to hug a mannequin!"

Here are a few pictures from a shopping trip after Julia's first day of "school," when I realized how few clothes she had that still fit.