Puzzle Me This

There are parts of playing with my monkeys that don't come completely naturally to me. Or, shall I say, there are ways of playing that I enjoy more. While I have a friend who can play pretend longer than her daughter, I get more engaged in creating the infrastructure to pretend worlds (tents, forts, train tracks, ships, etc.). When I have to be an actual sailor on the SS Cardboard Box, admittedly, my mind wanders a little bit to grocery lists or how much effort I should put into finding Molly yellow leggings (a lot, it turns out)... or other equally titillating topics. I try, I really do, but sometimes I can't muster quite the enthusiasm that I wish I could for parking and reparking cars over and over again. Puzzles, however, do not fall into that category. When we puzzle, I love it (remember, Kate?) and have been known to forget to make dinner once or twice because of it. First of all, I find them honestly fun to do myself and secondly, I think they are one of the top five activities that I enjoy watching my kids do. I love watching their brains process information -- it's almost as if you can see the little wheels turning in their heads. I have long abandoned the antsy feeling I used to get when I knew where a piece went but he or she was still trying to figure it out. Now, I really enjoy the process and then the triumph that comes from putting that last piece in. I don't know why I get so much enjoyment out of it but I'm not going to question it. It's clear to me that it's one of the nuggets that I'll store away for future smiles and warm fuzzy feelings. Geeky? Yes, totally. Happy? Also, yes and I've certainly learned to go with what you're good at rather than trying to be Princess Someone Else or Race Car That Other Guy. 

And the rest of it all? Molly's abilities and attention span keep getting more and more focused and interesting. It's been really fun spending alone time with her, lately. Our frenzied time as a trio is undoubtedly fun, but I like the quiet time activities, too. Molly is absolutely not a talker unless she wants to parcel out information, but, in these relatively quiet afternoons, I learn more about her day by shutting up than I ever do by asking questions.  In addition to our apparent puzzle-mania, we've done some really messy (4-year old messy that I'm not interested in expanding to 2-year old messy) experiments lately and read longer books that Jack would be shutting (literally) the cover to within two minutes. I like four -- it's been a really nice change from the ups and downs of three.

And Mr. Train Table? He is also my puzzle-buddy and is surprisingly capable (poor second kids never get the credit they deserve) of doing much more than his little wooden puzzles. Outside of trains, trucks, and falling down, puzzles are probably his favorite thing to do. He is getting more elaborate in his play, too. His stories tend to be pretty linear but at least now the trains are going to the docks or going to the mountains instead of just mindlessly zooming around the tracks. I hear rumors that he leaves the train table at school now but I haven't been in his classroom much lately so I'm not sure I believe it. I know one place he is not going and that is the art room. For being a rather slovenly eater, my boy does not like his mitts to be messy so glue, play-doh, paint, etc. do not interest him at all. He does like stickers but goes bananas when they stick to his fingers instead of the paper. He is still super laid back... until he wants something and then the banshees come and possess him but overall, he's a very pleasant two (until he runs into the street). 

As the days get longer, dryer, and warmer, our inside time will get traded for more outside time. More dirt, more physical activities, more chaos. I've enjoyed our inside activities, though, and while I'm very glad that spring comes earlier here than I'm used to, I've really enjoyed our late winter moments. Plus, really, puzzles are good all year 'round.

Our corn starch, flour, and water goop day... I'm still finding it splashed in places but she had so much fun playing with it.

(the wine is clearly for her, too).

Admittedly, it's nice to enjoy a cupcake every now and again. I guess I've stopped taking pictures of him with trains but have plenty of pictures of him eating... being strapped in has its advantages. 

A BIG favorite -- building parking garages. 

 In a burst of what will likely be slightly too early enthusiasm, we've started our seeds. It will be worth re-doing them if we have to, though, because Molly is like her pal Ethan and loves seedling caretaking.

Her latest accomplishment (with lots of help) was this blast from the past -- who knew that Smurfs were so confusing to explain to a kid?