Child Labor

Your very new most favorite activity is washing the dishes. Well, sort of. It's standing on your new toddler kitchen helper tower thing at the kitchen sink and playing with the water, filling cups, pouring cups out, filling salad bowls, dumping salad bowls down yourself, and then eating dinner in wet sweatpants and no shirt.

That's not fair - you are actually getting quite good at keeping the water in the sink while you play. But given that we are still on a two showers a day schedule - instituted when your poor baby nose had chronic sinusitis and the steam was the only thing that would really help - and all you do in the shower is play with water and the sprayer and cups of various sizes and with different holes in them - your dad and I are very amused that you can't get enough sink time. As a corollary to this newfound enthusiasm you have also been introduced to mopping. You are a fan. It's no vacuuming, but it's close. 

This morning as we readied for Montessori you lobbied to play in the sink, but instead settled for watching me make you a cream cheese and mango-peach jelly sandwich while toying with a measuring spoon. I told you you could take your measuring spoon to school to show everyone if you wanted to. You were very stoked at this, keeping tight hold of it as I pulled on your sweatshirt and socks and sneakers, and when we put on your coat as I bundled you out of the car. When we got to your classroom you held up your measuring spoon in triumph, and Miss Paula asked if you wanted to go show it to Miss Kerrie. You dashed into the room, going UH UH UH and brandishing your measuring spoon, eager to share your discovery with everyone.

Still not a lot of talking, but I have lost count of all the words you can understand and identify in pictures. You've got all the words in the "101 first words" book your grandmother sent, and then a whole bunch more besides. You are usually able to make yourself understood with gestures and points and grunts and sign language. When we read the word "mittens" in Goodnight Moon you sweetly touch the tips of your index fingers together and then look at me to see if I saw. 

I did.