Amelia's New Baby Jesus

We've been talking a lot about the Baby Jesus as we get ready for Christmas. We have our nativity set up on the mantel, well out of reach of little hands, and Amelia has this very cute soft nativity that she can handle as much as she wants.

She's been playing with all the pieces, asking which is Jesus' mom and which is his dad, marching the camel and donkey around the room, and flapping the wings right off the angel.

Today she asked me for a Band-aid for Baby Jesus. "She has an owie."

I went and got a Band-aid, expecting her to present me with the Baby Jesus from her nativity set to patch up. Instead she presented me with the baby doll she got for Christmas last year.

I asked, "Where's the Baby Jesus?"

"Right here," said Amelia. "She has an owie." (Yep. SHE.)

I took her baby doll, previously only known as Baby, from her. "This baby?"

"Yes," said Amelia emphatically. "Baby Jesus. Say 'Gee-zuss.' Isn't that a good name, Mom?"

Chuckling, I agreed that it was.

Amelia, like most kids, has a pretty good collection of stuffed animals and dolls. But very, very few of them have names. For the longest time just two stuffed dogs had names. One was a bright yellow poodle pup that Amelia got right after we kept a friend's puppy for the weekend. The live puppy was Bella, so the stuffed puppy became Bella. The other came from our neighbors, who gave Amelia a stuffed pup that looked just like their dog. Their dog is named Carmel, so naturally, the stuffed pup became Carmel, too.

In the last month, another stuffed dog has gotten a name: Peanut. Now, apparently we have a new addition to the Named status. Baby has been officially named Baby Jesus.

I can't wait to see if this one lasts. And I have a sneaking suspicion it will lead to more church stories (like the ones about Samuel and the Pledge of Allegiance and the nuns) down the road.