Weekly Retrospective 3/13-3/19/11

Just A Cute Face to Share :)

Weekly Retrospective 3/6-3/12/11

Weekly Retrospective 2/27-3/5/11

The Introduction of Pretend Play

I think one of my favorite things right now is Elliott’s relatively new use of pretend play. He has been pretending remotes were telephones for some time, but this level of pretend play is different. He has become a master of cooking soup and fixing tea as well as making sure his animal friends (especially Pooh) are well fed and taken care of.

The spoils of Elliott's birthday party

I hadn’t really thought much about Elliott being ready for this type of play until he joined his new Gymboree class at the beginning of the year. As a result, pretend play ‘toys’ were heavily featured for his birthday. Not only did he end up with the coolest set of dishware (which not only is made from recycled milk jugs but can also actually be used!), but he now has a couple coordinating pots and pans as well as a set of stuffed veggies. I also made him a stove out of a cardboard box. Here you can see him playing with his new toys just after his birthday party (and yes, I am THAT behind in sharing this video). Mr. Polar Bear was well taken care of that day!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Elliott has become our little mirror as of late. Everything we do, he wants to do, too. From imitating our facial expressions and funny noises, to our words (sometimes) and actions. He is also now aware that Daddy goes to school. And that school involves a rolling backpack. When the backpack comes out, Elliott usually says "school!" or "Daddy school".

And when the zipper on Brad's old backpack required him to get a new one, the old one became Elliott's :) So now (especially on Sundays when Brad goes to his study group), Elliott also wants to go 'to school'. One day in particular, after packing his bag with cars ("What do you want to put in your bag, Elliott?" "Cars!") and a book (What to Expect at Preschool, naturally), Elliott and I walked all around our complex 'going to school'. We even waited for the school bus to come...it didn't ;)

Weekly Retrospective 2/21-2/26/11