How Ellie Plays

I have an almost four-year-old on my hands! Ellie Marie is a sweet and thoughtful big sister who loves to use her imagination. Sometimes her methods of play (like most kids' her age) are mysterious and funny to boring old grown-ups. Today, the three little ones played together so well -- no fighting, fussing, or meltdowns -- for almost 2 hours! I checked in, but mostly stayed out the way and let them explore and play. This was 100% due to my needing to finish up some last minute end-of-semester grading. Here's just a little taste.

(For those who claim I seem to only post blogs about my happy, clean, and perfect homelife, be careful what you wish for!)

Why does a pig in a bathtub need to be on a piece of newspaper? Sounds like a riddle, but no; it's a real question:

A lot of Ellie's playing involves putting toys, animals, and dolls to bed. Here, we have the classic create a bed for a doggie. She has a toy cradle in her room and plenty of dolls to put to sleep in it. But, I can see why she would prefer to put one of the boys' toys to bed on a impromptu bed, can't you? 

Another popular and time-consuming playtime activity for Ellie is stacking and piling things. Anything, really. Today, it's 1. books on a chair 2. two beds' worth of bedding, a couple of yoga mats, and a few pieces of the floor mat all piled on top of her brothers.



The aftermath of a couple of hours without complete supervision. Oh, the joys of parenting. But, I'll miss this one day, or at least that's what I've heard :)