Entries from August 2011 ↓

Yesterday Ezri helped Eric assemble a bookshelf so her books can live right by her bedside. In our house there are never enough bookshelves.

She enjoyed playing with her backpack of plastic tools and implements of destruction. The set has a hammer, screwdriver, wrench, and channel lock, as well as, assorted plastic nails and bolts.

Conversation while Ezri holds up a toy channel lock:
Ezri: What is this for?
Me: It’s for gripping and pulling things out of. . . other things.
Ezri: Pull the baby! Pull the baby! (while waving her channel lock pliers in the air)

Another moment while grinning with her plastic screwdriver
Ezri: I need things to screw! Mommy, what can I screw?

Ezri’s latest suggestion for her imminent brother’s name is Bubbu. Bubbu Blau does have a certain ring to it. I have explained to her that since she named her new stuffed rabbit Bubbu, we should pick something else for her brother just to save confusion.

Her other frequent suggestions is Attabatta. Sometimes I call the fetus “Attabatta Baby” cause that’s fun to say.

We are playing “Go Away, Monster!” made by Gamewright and recommended to me by friends with toddlers.
It’s a perfect two-year-old board game.
She learns about taking turns and completing her gameboard. You can play competitively, but we played the cooperative style where players help each other out.
Best of all you get to yell, “Go Away, Monster!” at frequent intervals throughout gameplay.

Ezri placing a piece on her gameboard.

The real joy is pulling pieces from the bag. She knows she isn’t supposed to look, but sometimes I catch her peeking.

This game has such a simple concept that I now want to design my own toddler games. The big thing that sets it apart from other boardgames (ones that are still off in Ezri’s future) is that there is no need to be able to count accurately. Even Chutes and Ladders requires consistent counting skills. Sometimes, Ezri can count, but she still loses focus much of the time.

Ezri has asked to play this game again and again – so if anyone’s in the neighborhood and wants to play Go Away, Monster stop by. She already taught Jason and Lori who were our dinner guests on Friday night.

Eric trimmed her bangs once, but we hadn’t given her an all over haircut yet. This is because she just hasn’t had the hair to necessitate it. But, today at the mall we passed a shop called Snippets and I explained it was a place that cut hair.

Ezri said, “Like in Busy Busy Town!” Busy Busy Town is a Richard Scarry book with a barbershop on the main street. Ezri was keenly interested and I decided to go for it. She got to sit in a train shaped barber chair with a steering wheel and her stylist was super fast. The dead ends that were starting to tangle are gone and her bangs are out of her eyes.

Nice!

She picked the pink flower barrette and spent way too much time arranging these babies. She liked making sure they all had pacifiers in their mouths.

Maybe she’s being girly or maybe she’s assembling an army of baby doll minions to take over the world.

In any case, after this we had to play with trains and a soccer ball to make mom feel more balanced.