No Creative Title

We had a pretty good morning, running an errand and playing at the house. I've been working on blanket time with Maddux more strictly, with less than desirable results. When she inevitably gets off of the blanket, I've started placing her in the pack-n-play with toys right next to the blanket. She. Hates. This. So now the problem is, she dreads blanket time because she equates it with being stuck in the PNP. I remind myself this is a process and I continue on the same path, at least twice each week. Today was the first time in a while that she hasn't cried hysterically the whole time. I didn't end up putting her in the PNP, as she mostly stayed on the blanket, and after the first ten minutes, she'd stopped crying and started playing. A novel idea!!

After our errand, the kids played on the back deck while I made lunch. Since we had a warm day (50-degrees!!!), I decided to feed Eli and Maddie on their outside picnic table. They both sat and ate really well (especially Maddux, who usually is a bit of a mess when she eats at that table). Eli tended to his 'fire' after lunch, building a stack of wood with our firewood from last year. He is very precise about how he places it, stacking one way and then the next.

In the last few weeks Maddux has picked up a few new signs: 'thank you' and 'night-night'. Today was the first time I've seen her sign 'thank you' totally unprompted. After she asked for more fruit at lunch, I handed it to her and she brought her open palm to her mouth. Very cool.