Imaginary Friends

We've had two friends visiting the last couple of days. Satsuki & Mei from 'My Neighbor Totoro'. For one brief moment I have a glimpse at what it would be like to have 3 children. It was a scary moment :) But it was lots of fun to cater to A-chan's whim when Satsuki and Mei needed to be lifted up to sit on the counter and help make breakfast. I peeled bananas for them and fed everybody oatmeal. Exclaiming over imaginary fridge artwork was interesting: I had no idea what 'Satsuki and Mei' had drawn and had to be very vague in my replies. "Wow, that's a nice drawing" and "She's very creative!" got used most often, I believe.

I'm not sure at what age or developmental stage children usually have imaginary friends. Is this a normal occurence or a sign that A-chan needs more interaction with other children? At the moment I'm not worried about it. But I'm realizing just how little I know about toddler development and what to expect. I've been focusing so much on potty training that I haven't found out what else might be changing soon.

One thing that has remained constant, though, is how much she loves musical instruments. Mine, hers, woodwind, string...it doesn't matter they are all good. She's always been enchanted with playing my harps but has also more recently found my old, old, old, ancient, high-school flute. The concept of blowing across the hole instead of covering the whole thing with one's mouth is lost on her so far, but we're working on it!