Around the time the Little Lady was born, Little Buddy (who isn't so little any more - I need to determine a new pseudonym for him) began his first fascination/obsession of airplanes. He was allllllllll about airplanes for a long, long, long time. Ever since, he's tended towards this phases. There was a phase where he loved dragons from _How to Train Your Dragon_. The _Star Wars_ phase. The _Cars_ phase. The dinosaurs phase. The ocean animals phase that lasted probably longer than any of them. He's been so focused on these things and played with these toys endlessly.
At some point we realized that the Little Lady never had something similar. She played with toys, of course. She was drawn to My Little Ponies for a while and was a little bit fascinated... but it was short lived compared to Buddy's. She's liked all things pink. She liked squinkies, and "Little Pet Shops" as she calls them. And still today she'd go nuts if you presented her with one. But the focus and obsession wasn't the same as Little Buddy's phase obsessions. She enjoyed playing with his toys, and playing with him, just as much as the things of hers.
We wondered why this was different. Just very interesting to us analytical and introspective folks.
As time has gone on, however, her obsession has emerged. People gave us stuffed animals when Little Buddy was born, and I wondered "why do people do this? Kids don't actually PLAY or USE stuffed animals...."
Or so I thought.
Little Buddy didn't care about them. The Little Lady? THIS. This is her focus and toy obsession.
She adores, with utter abandon, stuffed animals. In particular, her very favorite are what she calls "Big Eyed Stuffed Animals." They are the Ty Beanie Boo line, and she LOVES them. She cannot have enough of them. She plays with them, all the time. Seriously, all the time, and seriously, she PLAYS with them. They are just decoration. They are not just to snuggle with. They PLAY with them. Just as her brother has always preferred smaller toys that fit in his hand, as opposed to larger toys (like the great big Playmobil Jet I so excitedly gave that he never, ever, not once, played with), she prefers these tiny animals to larger ones. Two peas in a pod, they are.
As she has indulged him and played what interested his little boy self, he now will indulge her and play in her games as well. They are the very best of friends, and it makes my heart swell.
We built this sofa table a few months ago, thinking it would be a place to set a cup or a picture frame... but accordingly to the Lady, it is a display shelf for her stuffed animals. 
They both love Connect the Dots. They asked for some, and I found a whole book of the different species of whales in Connect the Dots on Enchanted Learning. They spent the whole day working on their books. What could have been more perfect for my ocean and animal loving children?
On top of that, his top tooth was loose. I was certain he'd lose it for Christmas, but dude. That sucker just hung on and hung on. It was getting closer to coming out, and I realized I better get some last shots of his little boy smile.
I shot these with my Nikon D800
Nikon 85mm f1.8
Nikon 50mm 1.4D
Sigma 30mm f1.4
They both love Connect the Dots. They asked for some, and I found a whole book of the different species of whales in Connect the Dots on Enchanted Learning. They spent the whole day working on their books. What could have been more perfect for my ocean and animal loving children?
On top of that, his top tooth was loose. I was certain he'd lose it for Christmas, but dude. That sucker just hung on and hung on. It was getting closer to coming out, and I realized I better get some last shots of his little boy smile.
I shot these with my Nikon D800
Nikon 85mm f1.8
Nikon 50mm 1.4D
Sigma 30mm f1.4