Collecting....Birdies

It all began with Carlos....

Our third baby came along six years after we thought our family was complete.  He burst into our life at a very inconvenient time, and taught us all to see the joy in unexpected gifts.  However, it took Noah some time to value this lesson, as he was promptly demoted from "baby of the family" to "big brother."  Perhaps this is why, when one of the stuffed birds adorning Andy's Little Einstein playmat came up missing, we knew immediately that six year old Noah was to blame.  Andy was, luckily, oblivious to the sudden change in his scenery, so I allowed Noah to keep the little red cardinal he had named Carlos.  Little did I know how the next few years of our life would be filled with conversations, playtime, even shopping trips revolving around 'the birdies,' or how this one act of piracy would form an unshakable bond between my three precious children.

Noah's collection of tiny stuffed animals, all of whom he called 'the birdies', began to grow.  A set of dinosaur puppets purchased on a trip to Las Vegas a year earlier became Carlos' first family.  McDonalds helped with tiny beanie babies and Neopet happy meals.  A few larger additions- Sully from Monsters, Inc., and Penelope the Dragon from Shrek- became parents to the collection.  Nicole and Noah played endlessly, creating scenes and adventures throughout our home.  Noah made furniture for them, and a beuatiful three foot tall, two story house.  Nicole's Barbie van became the family vehicle; a camper was created out of waffle blocks and pulled by Noah's Tonka truck.  Every minitature find at Wal-Mart or a local antique mall drew an excited cry of, "look, mom, for the birdies!" 

As they grew from pre-schoolers to tweens, and Andy became old enough to join, the games continued.  A few new additions have been made, including a real Pop-up camper and SUV to haul it.  I still occasionally hear, "let's play birdies," but I know it is now a time passing away.  All three of them are close to outgrowing this innocent world of imaginary play, and knowing this brings a twinge of sadness. 

How long until they all become locked in their own struggles, grown beyond these precious moments?  What will signal their coming of age?  In our house, one sure sign will be when we no longer hear Noah announce he's found a 'birdy bathtub' in an antique teacup.