Scared of ....

Our little one is a unique child. She is very good with lots of things, but there are some things holding her back from reaching her full potential. These things are stuffed animals and dolls, and puppets too. She loves balls, books, puzzles, pop beads, toy trains, and many more things. Pull out a doll, and she shakes her head while backing away from you and the doll/puppet/stuffed animal. I don't know why she has this terrible fear, but every once in a while we try to pull out the Big Bird doll, or a stuffed teddy someone has given her. We usually get a look of curiousity, and then the shaking head and backing away, even tears if the item can move or make noise by itself. Grandma came to visit and brought an Abby Cadabby doll that sings. Elise knows and loves Abby Cadabby on Sesame Street, or a puzzle, or even on her shirt. The doll, she's terrified. She cries if I suggest we let Abby sing to us. I think she may over come this fear with time, so I put them all away, and periodically bring them out to see if she'll take to them. We were going through one such box in the midst of packing, and she didn't want to have anything to do with these items. She wanted me to pack them away again. She did find something she liked. I had some small, 2 inch tall Cabbage Patch figurines from when I was little. Elise loves them. She put them in her basket and has carried them around and played with them. I guess because they are small and plastic, she is more okay with them. She is still scared of the other stuffed animals and dolls though, which I have noticed can be an ok thing at this stage of our lives. She keeps getting into boxes she shouldn't be in, and while this is usually just a frustration challenge for me, it can sometimes be not safe for her do to. One day I had such a box, and saw Abby Cadabby lying not far away. I put the doll on top of the box. She hasn't touched the box since. I was able to get it packed, taped shut, and out of her way without her getting into things that she shouldn't. Not that I was trying to scare her, I just decided that if she was going to leave Abby Cadabby alone, the most advantageous place for the doll was on top of the unsafe box. Hopefully by the time she makes friends with the Abby doll, we'll be done with the unsafe boxes!