Important Call

I love all things Shabby Chic. I love the vintage 1950s look; it is "MY" era. So when I am presented with an opportunity to photograph my sweet daughter in vintage form, I jump. And, until I ran across it tonight, I had almost forgotten about this darling photo I took of Ellie over the summer.

Ellie has a fascination–no obsession–with the telephone. It started when she was around nine months old. She just picked up one of her toy phones and started talking. I don't fancy myself as a phone person. I'm sure many of my friends and long distance family would say I don't call nearly enough, but for some reason my daughter developed the gift of gab on this electronic device, albeit not from me. She's since developed a true affinity for the "real" phone while ignoring her toy phones if given the choice between the two. She knows the difference. She knows that the cute little dog face and simple tones on one of her many toy phones is not the real thing. She isn't fooled and gets quite upset when I am on the phone and I don't give her an opportunity to say "Hello." It's cute when it's Daddy or any other family calling; not so much when it's a customer or complete stranger.

Over the summer, we visited the children's museum Kidcity in Middleton. Kidcity is unique in that it is not a traditional museum, but rather a place for young children to explore and participate in creative/imaginative play. Ellie seemed to enjoy all of the different play areas–dinosaurs, the Tibetan slide, under sea adventures, and apple orchard–but her definite favorite was the 1950s kitchen/farm stand.

The exhibit was neat. It featured a roadside farm stand with play carrots shoved in rows of cloth dirt. You pick the play carrots, weigh them on the scale, and wash and prepare them in the adjacent vintage kitchen. Ellie, however, was not amused until she saw the telephone hanging on the wall. She picked up the handset, propped her hand up on the wall and proceeded to have a very in-depth conversation with who knows who. She laughed, she cried, she showed concern, and listened intently. It was an intense and long conversation. I couldn't resist capturing the moment.

I'm sure one day we will be annoyed with her phone use, maybe even angry when we receive that first high overage cell phone bill, but, for now, we'll enjoy her unidentifiable toddler speak as she talks on the phone and takes her important calls. And heck, maybe I'll even catch a few of her calls on camera.

~Sarah E. Rose~