Babushka Dolls

We have had Cordelia hanging out at our house more than usual lately.  Our daughter and son-in-law just bought a house and are madly painting the interior in just a few day's time so they can move in.  It's been fun for us to spend more time with this fun little soul!

One of Cordy's favorite things to do with me is to play with the Babushka Dolls.  I looked them up on Wikipedia and found they can also be called Matryoshka Dolls or of course, Nesting Dolls.  You've seen these, right?  It is simply a set of look-alike little Russian girls made in descending sizes.  The cool thing is each nests into the size above itself.  When you put them all together you have what looks like just one doll. 

Cordy first shakes the biggest doll.  When she hears rattling, she knows there are more inside.  She likes to sit on my lap to do this but it can also be done on the stool in our living room.  We work through the revealing pretty quickly until we get to the last tiny doll.  When Cordy shakes that one (I know, I know, NEVER SHAKE A BABY!) she hears nothing and knows there are no more.  She announces, "Baby!" and almost instantly she says, "Aaaaaaagain!"  I love how she draws out that word.  I don't know why she says it that way but it does kind of add to the fun.  Cordelia has a LOT of stamina for this little game and we do it over and over and over and over and over.....

This routine is even more fun to me because the Babushka Dolls (say it out loud...it sounds cool and is much more fun to say than "nesting dolls") were a gift to me from an oncology patient.  This particular lady likes to travel and has done so sometimes when we thought she was probably too worn out to even go to the grocery store.  I admire her spirit!  She was in Russia and said that when she went into a little shop to buy these dolls, they had just run out.  Before she left the shop, though, a country woman came in, bringing a new batch of Babushka Dolls that she'd just made.  I love that some woman in rural Russia handmade these and they ended up being part of important playtime for a little girl in Wyoming!  I get the same joy when we make something for our Wyoming Rose Boutique and it ends up being sent to someone out of our country.  It just think it makes us all seem more related, more together in this experience of being human.