Putting things In

One of Olivia’s new pastimes is to put things into something else. Placing her graduated plastic cups into one another, collecting her alphabet magnets into a pot to make alphabet soup, putting shapes into the Tupperware Shape-O Toy at Mark and Marian’s house, etc. Until I realized how much she did this, I had some trouble locating some of her toys. I had begun to think I was losing my mind one night, as I was certain that I brought her Weebles into the kitchen for her to play with. But they were nowhere. I eventually found them in my large dutch oven pot. In the lazy susan.

This afternoon I was trying to get some craft time in. I usually do it in the morning during O’s 40 minutes of Sesame Street, but was too busy today.

My goal was to cut one rectangle out of a piece of material. ONE RECTANGLE, people.

In that very short period of time, Olivia covered a lot of ground. She read a few books aloud in the living room. Then she crawled over to the large crock that sits by the fireplace. It looked like just the kind of thing to put things in to. So she crawled back to her pile of toys, and brought over a few things that went into the crock. (Note to self: when I can’t find a certain toy of Olivia’s, look in crock.)

Then she came into the dining room where I was working. She tried reaching a ceramic chicken on a shelf (she's pulling herself up now). Realizing that it was too high, she set her sights on the red ceramic pot of mums. Too high again. Take THAT, curious baby! Then she crawled under the dining room table to do her daily grunting alone, where I couldn't see her. (Do anyone else’s kids do that? Go to a quiet place to take a crap?)

Once that was done, she was off again. I had finished cutting the third side of the rectangle when I caught sight of her out of the corner of my eye. She was sitting in the kitchen, next to the dog bowl. She was waving her hand at me. Her shiny wet hand.

I have been teaching her NOT to splash the dog’s water or eat the dog’s food. So she knows better, and that was why she was looking at me with her hand in the air like that. As if to say, “yes, I put my hands in the water, but you didn’t SEE me doing it, so I’m not in trouble.” I came over and told her no, and that was when I noticed it. The two pink baby socks chilling in Lucy’s water bowl. Olivia had deemed the water bowl worthy of “putting something in” and pulled off her socks, since she didn’t have any toys at hand.

I admire her intelligence, for realizing that you can put something into something, even if something (like water) is already in it.

But I’d really appreciate it if she could wait until craft time is over. My gimpy rectangle is still laying on the table, waiting…