Everyone can have an invisible friend. Leilani has an invisible pet monkey. His name is – of course – Herr Nielson, just like Pippi’s pet monkey. We need to be aware of it so we don’t inadvertently sit on it, and it jumps from person to person. Fortunately Leilani warns us and comments on where he is a lot. “He jumped on you. He jumped on Daddy now. He is doing monkey stuff”
Sometimes she also has an invisible Oma. I remember reading a book when I was in elementary school, Die Omama im Apfelbaum about a kid who had an imaginary Oma too, so that’s probably more common.
She is about to turn two, and that’s hard on the parents. Speaking of two, there is a conversation we had yesterday. S: “Leilani, how old are you?” L: “I am sixteen Dollars.” S: “Leilani, you have to answer I am two years old” L “I am two years old, I am two years old” S: “How old are you” L: “Um, I am old enough”. No practice got her to respond correctly to the question how old she was, not in English, not in German, but when I told her she could answer I am three years old, she did say that very well. She also says she is sixteen – years, months (or dollars) and 16-8.
Other recent conversations: “Leilani, what do you want in your oatmeal?” (still hoping for the answer to be spirulina) L: “I want jam… and syrup too, Daddy want some jam too?”