Cora and Nemo

An orange plastic bath toy has stolen the heart of my older daughter.

And, "Finding Nemo" has taken on much deeper meaning in our house, where we have searched for the little squirter far too often in recent weeks.

Cora loves to take Nemo with her, playing games with him, talking to him, talking about him, telling us his thoughts on the world.

The top photo was taken after one of our busy Tuesdays, when we went from MOPS in the morning straight to Terrific Tots. When I picked Cora up at 1:30, she found Nemo in the car and got excited: "Nemo missed me because I was gone for such a long time. I take care of Nemo because I am his mummy. He is my daughter."
Cora often dreams about Nemo, putting herself into the movie (which she calls "Nemo Finding").

Describing the three types of dreams she has: "They use a rocket to get away from the sharks, and sometimes they come to our house, and sometimes I'm in the river with Nemo."

One morning when I was tired of the tears as we again searched for the fish, I told Cora that we were going to make a bed for Nemo. When Nemo wasn't right with her, he should be in his bed, so we know where he is. This was the suggestion of a friend of mine.

So, in the middle photo, you see Nemo in his bed. The little wooden crates for her play food have previously served as a tank for Nemo, when she pretends he's trapped at the dentist's office.

Cora then put together a hiding place for him for when they play hide-and-seek.