e's first purse

Does this scene look familiar?

 

I can't even count how many times I've left the room for a millisecond, and come back to this:  the entire contents of my purse strewn around the living room, and Elise sitting contently in the middle of the chaos.  It's sweet and all, but after searching for my debit card for the billionth time, I decided it was high time Elise had her own purse! 

clockwise from the top: purse, keys, bracelet, wallet, "pen"

Instead of buying Elise a first purse toy (These actually exist!), I decided to be resourceful and use items I already had here at home.  Real things captivate Elise more that toys do right now anyway.   I chose a purse and wallet that wouldn't be too easy or too hard to open - Elise isn't quite ready for zippers or snaps yet.  

 I filled the wallet with outdated cards - pulling these out is a great fine motor exercise for little fingers! 

The verdict?  Elise loved exploring her new purse, but she wondered why it didn't have any lip gloss or hand cream!  Soon enough, Elise - please don't grow up too fast!