Favorite Pastimes (of the month)

Norah has shown less interest in her bin of toys recently. I wonder if she might be somewhat bored with them, even though it seems the possibilities of what to do with blocks are endless. Sometimes if she is a bit fussy we'll go downstairs in her room to play and she is fine again - seemingly satisfied with the "new" selection of toys we keep down there.

Several things, however, never seem to get old, and luckily I'm okay with all of them. One is playing with my shoes, as I mentioned in a previous post. Another is books.

We often sit in the recliner with a stack of books and read. She is particularly interested in the small, stiff books with nothing but pictures and words. She knows some of the objects now, so it is fun to ask her where the bananas are and watch her eyes scan the page and then see her little pointer finger dart up to the correct picture. We sometimes read those books from cover to cover multiple times in a row. Duplication is obviously an important aspect of learning, so I'm okay with it.

And story time before bed is getting much better as well. We were really struggling to get her to actually sit and read a book, but we now always read books in the chair (less distraction from toys around her on the floor). It took some time, but she is finally content to sit in our lap with snuggly while we read several books. There are definitely some favorites that are usually part of the mix. One is Goodnight Moon, and the other two involve fold out pages and things to touch and feel (I can't remember the names off the top). Hopefully this is becoming a solid part of the bedtime routine.

Another favorite pastime of Norah's is being outside.

I have no idea how much time we have spent playing with rocks and leaves. Norah loves to collect them, put them in my hand, move them one by one to my other hand, then to the tyke bike seat, back to my hand, and on and on. She also serves as the neighborhood welcoming committee, stopping to wave when anyone comes down our shared drive. She sometimes even waves at cars that are passing by out on the street, which is a reminder that she does not miss a thing. She is extremely aware of everything that is going on around her.

Today is Friday, so I am off. Here is what I have on my list for the day:

- Groceries

- Laundry

That's it! I'm sure I will quickly come up with some other things, but I have found that if I just get these two done we are in pretty good shape heading into the weekend. In addition, I'm sure there will be some playing with shoes, reading, and time outside. The weather is supposed to be beautiful and I am looking forward to my day with Norah.