New Toys!

Raina has become quite bored with her toys; we retired boxes full a few weeks back and she was totally unfazed by it. That's when we realized new toys were in order. Raina routinely completes 24 pieces jigsaw puzzles in about 5-7 minutes, and those are the only toys she interacts with currently. So, we upgraded the puzzles. I brought home three new puzzles: a 24 pieces and two 48 pieces. She literally screamed in excitement when she saw the boxes.

We opened up the new 24 piece at 7:00 p.m. -- 30 minutes before bedtime -- with the expectation that she'd take 15 minutes or so to complete it and then we'd put it away. She raced through the new Elmo in about 4 minutes and then reached up for the next puzzle and impatiently gave the MORE!!! hand signal when I moved too slowly to open it. The 48 piece Dora puzzle took a lot more time, about 25 minutes with parental help, but she was SO OVERJOYED by it that we couldn't stop. And Raina wouldn't let us stop. She became very territorial and possessive and almost started crying when we told her that it was bedtime so she'd have to leave the puzzle only partly completed. She refused, and that's when mommy and daddy stepped into help.

That was Tuesday night. Apparently, the very next day she completed the Dora puzzle on her own. I routinely am astonished by Raina: not only by her problem solving ability, but by her determination and patience. Two year old kids do NOT sit and focus on something for 30 minutes straight unless it's a movie. Most adults don't have that sustained attention anymore either!

Right now, Raina is living it up with her family in Nashville, and mommy and Sammy are behind in St. Louis. The weather has been glorious here and we realized that it feels like football weather -- or, more accurately, it feels like good playing outside weather. (107 degrees is NOT good outside weather!) To celebrate, we put together Raina's Big Wheel. I LOVED my Big Wheel when I was younger, and I rode that thing into the ground. Raina's looks just like mine; apparently not much has changed in Big Wheel technology over the past 20 years. I have to admit, I've spent quite a while looking at it with longing and wishing that Big Wheels came in more adult sizes. Raina comes home tomorrow, and we hope that she squeals with excitement over this new toy too.

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