Fave Games of Late

So Eva's got quite the imagination, as you may know. Two of her favorite games lately reflect this - and they crack me up, so I want to remember them here. :)

The first game is a copying game of sorts - she usually starts by positioning her hands in some funny shape, or holding them like she is praying, and then turns to me or Peter and says, "Do this, do this!" After we mimic her, she changes her expression, moves her hands around, and then says, "ok, ok, ok, now do THIS!" It usually involves clapping, looking out windows in the car, holding onto ears/knees/cheeks, and other various motions she can come up with and make us follow. She inevitably is struck with glee at some point during the game and laughs her head off that we are following her - which, really, is a valid point. We DO look pretty silly. :)

The second game is an outgrowth of normal pretend play with her dolls/toys/utensils/anything she decides to pretend with. (At breakfast the small and large *fork* were a mommy and a baby.) The dolls/forks/whatever almost always want to go to sleep, they get tired, they snore, and then the wake up! Which always seems magical to Eva! Then, the pretend characters usually want to "go off somewhere," are often "busy," or are going to find "friends to play together with." It's a whole intricate plot line, seriously. The frequently with which Eva starts these relational, creative and funny little games astounds me though; she does them probably 50 times a day, by herself and with others, at home and at church/nursery/friend's houses, and never seems to tire of them. I think she is replaying interactions and feelings she is living in her own little way, and its fascinating for me to see how her mind and heart applies that growing wisdom to, say, her fork.

Also, a recent favorite to animate with these storylines - our "matching" freckles. Both Eva and I have a freckle on the top of our left hand and she never tires of having them talk to each other, kiss each other, play with each other, and "go off to sleep" together. :) Just glancing at that little freckle on my hand now makes me smile.

Playing "Asleep"

One of Eva's favorite games lately is to put her toys, baby dolls, animals, cars - whatever she has on hand - to sleep. "Baby/monkey/lambie go asleep, momma," is a very common phrase to hear around here. She talks about them being awake, then about them wanting to go "asleep," sometimes she tucks them in with "blank" (blanket) and sometimes sings them lullabies or juts says, goodnight or goodbye when they are falling asleep. She often pretends that she is asleep with them - only to pop back up awake ten seconds later.

It's an endlessly fascinating game for her and it is interesting for me to watch her enact the waking and sleeping part of life with all her toys. :)

This video is a typical "asleep" game - it's her playing with her Fisher Price little people camper set (that was mine when I was her age!). If you can speak toddler-ese, you might pick up her talking about them being asleep, sleepy, getting in the crib (plastic lawnchair), and then resting. :) (This video was actually taken about 6 wks ago, but I am just uploading winter pics and videos now!)

Back Home and Playing

We've been back in our own digs for almost a whole week now - after a solid six weeks of being gone at least every weekend, and sometimes as long as nine days at a time. Whew! The travels were fun, but it's nice to be home again.

We have a lot of great photos from our travels that we'll be getting online sometime soon; but in the meantime, here is Eva playing her new version of hide and seek at the breakfast table with us today. She did this for about five minutes and we could not stop laughing. This kid is getting more fun by the minute! She keeps us giggling a lot of the time and is becoming more and more of a little girl/toddler with her own personality and quirks, which is very fun to see. She also did better with the travels as they progressed and adapted pretty well to having her bed on the road for so long. Mom and dad also got better at understanding this new phase of hers that now includes stronger opinons and mini-tantrums; I suppose that is what parenting is going to be like - she changes, we figure it out, she changes again. :) All in all, this toddler stage is a very fun one, and it was fun to share her with so many family and friends during our travels.