Kid update: pretend play
Sunday Beka catapulted headfirst into the realm of playing pretend with great verve and enthusiasm.
For about a week now, she's been very interested in lampshading for us when someone/thing (or a picture of same) is sleeping. She'll point and then do her 'sleeping sign: her palm clapped to her cheek, and then her head tilted over on its side that way. "Yes," I'll agree, "Boston/Daddy/that baby is sleeping." Diaper-wipe boxes, for no reason clear to me, have sleeping-baby pictures on them, so we get that one a lot.
Then on Sunday during lunch, Beka signed 'sleeping'. "Are YOU sleepy?" I asked her, getting a vigorous negative. She pointed, signed 'sleeping', and so on, until it became clear to me that what she was saying (if I may paraphrase) was, "Look! My slice of banana is sleeping!" I played along once I figured it out, sharing a ssssssh with her, and giving it a tiny cheese-slice blankie, which she approved greatly. Then her cornbread was sleeping.
Then she wanted to play with a tiny jingly toy rabbit we have (whose name, for historical reasons, is Diaper Bunny). Diaper Bunny was sleepy, so he got to take a little nap. Then Diaper Bunny needed some nursing, so I obliged; then she insisted Diaper Bunny needed his diaper changed, which took some ingenuity on my part, but was also accomplished.
We played her favorite clap-and-dance game, which they do at her preschool, and which my brain insists is basically a baby-sized breakdance circle: each kid gets a turn to wiggle, dance, turn around, and then sit down (ending the turn), with their name included in the clap-song. So I was clap-songing for her, and then she pointed at Ajax, so Ajax got a turn. Then Diaper Bunny got a turn. Then her cornbread got a turn ... yeah.
So I think she's definitely into playing pretend. :-> Her food and toys might have a wider range of intended activities; she only has a limited number of action words at the moment. It was an exciting day, though. Daddy and I have prompted her to attribute emotions to her toys before, and she thought it was funny, but Sunday was the first time she (a) initiated it and (b) really kept with it for an extended period.
Now if only she can actually start cuddling and carrying around a teddy or a doll instead of *her cup of water*, we'll be much easier to explain to outsiders. :-> Srsly, when leaving the house or going down for a nap, she HAS to have a cup of water to hug or she melts DOWN. We call it 'the teddy water'. Luckily it's not any particular cup, just a cup with water and enough ice in it.
For about a week now, she's been very interested in lampshading for us when someone/thing (or a picture of same) is sleeping. She'll point and then do her 'sleeping sign: her palm clapped to her cheek, and then her head tilted over on its side that way. "Yes," I'll agree, "Boston/Daddy/that baby is sleeping." Diaper-wipe boxes, for no reason clear to me, have sleeping-baby pictures on them, so we get that one a lot.
Then on Sunday during lunch, Beka signed 'sleeping'. "Are YOU sleepy?" I asked her, getting a vigorous negative. She pointed, signed 'sleeping', and so on, until it became clear to me that what she was saying (if I may paraphrase) was, "Look! My slice of banana is sleeping!" I played along once I figured it out, sharing a ssssssh with her, and giving it a tiny cheese-slice blankie, which she approved greatly. Then her cornbread was sleeping.
Then she wanted to play with a tiny jingly toy rabbit we have (whose name, for historical reasons, is Diaper Bunny). Diaper Bunny was sleepy, so he got to take a little nap. Then Diaper Bunny needed some nursing, so I obliged; then she insisted Diaper Bunny needed his diaper changed, which took some ingenuity on my part, but was also accomplished.
We played her favorite clap-and-dance game, which they do at her preschool, and which my brain insists is basically a baby-sized breakdance circle: each kid gets a turn to wiggle, dance, turn around, and then sit down (ending the turn), with their name included in the clap-song. So I was clap-songing for her, and then she pointed at Ajax, so Ajax got a turn. Then Diaper Bunny got a turn. Then her cornbread got a turn ... yeah.
So I think she's definitely into playing pretend. :-> Her food and toys might have a wider range of intended activities; she only has a limited number of action words at the moment. It was an exciting day, though. Daddy and I have prompted her to attribute emotions to her toys before, and she thought it was funny, but Sunday was the first time she (a) initiated it and (b) really kept with it for an extended period.
Now if only she can actually start cuddling and carrying around a teddy or a doll instead of *her cup of water*, we'll be much easier to explain to outsiders. :-> Srsly, when leaving the house or going down for a nap, she HAS to have a cup of water to hug or she melts DOWN. We call it 'the teddy water'. Luckily it's not any particular cup, just a cup with water and enough ice in it.