Dot was so pretty in her white and blue dress! I think every time I put her into a new outfit she looks older. I blew up a balloon, and after a brief period of being upset (maybe because it didn’t float?) she decided they were good stuff and started asking for more. We would blow up another, she would count it, and come asking for the next one! I think she had seen that there were ten in the package! Her Nanna and Pappa came, and they helped her play with the balloons while she counted them from one to ten repeatedly.
This morning I unpacked one of the cylinder blocks (Block 1) for Dot to experiment with. She immediately took them out and started putting them back in while I scrambled for the camera. She had it mastered within two minutes. I thought she would at least have taken the morning to figure it out. I didn’t even get a chance to demonstrate it for her. This Montessori educational tool was made for 3 to 3 1/2 years old. Agreed, she isn’t doing all four blocks together noiselessly and blindfolded, but I think she did more than can be expected for her age. She played with them all day, practicing counting one through ten while she took the blocks out and back in. I think this was a great second birthday present. Now I have to figure out why she was taking the blocks (and my phone) and smacking herself in the back of the head with them. It would hurt and she would cry and she would do it over and over. Sometimes she is super smart and other times I can’t figure her out at all.
Dot lined up her geometric stacking blocks – both the octogons and Circles – up on the pegs in perfect order. The octogons were even lined up by their edges. I asked her Grandma three times if she had done it, and she insisted that Dot did it all herself. She even tried getting the squares on, and got them lined up and graduated correctly, but they depend on being right side up to stack properly. I was still amazed. And of course every time I try to video her it ends up a big fail – my computer is full of those! I managed to get a small bit of her stacking the circles up, and I will keep trying to get her with the octogons. I’m sure she will be figuring out the squares soon enough.
I gave Dot three of her smaller foam puzzle squares today. I figured it is time to see if she will try to put these smaller pieces in her mouth. They aren’t small enough to choke on but small enough to make a slobbery mess out of everything! She went right to work poking all of the pieces out and playing with them, and thankfully not chewing on them. Once they were all apart, she had me help her put the number 3 back in. I have to admit I was a little shocked when she came back up to me a few minutes later; she had put every single piece back in place as well as connecting the three squares together! Of course I can’t get her to do it again while I have the camera going (she is WAY too interested in videos), but I did get a few bits of her assembling the pieces.
(Block 1) for Dot to experiment with. She immediately took them out and started putting them back in while I scrambled for the camera. She had it mastered within two minutes. I thought she would at least have taken the morning to figure it out. I didn’t even get a chance to demonstrate it for her. This 
– both the octogons and Circles – up on the pegs in perfect order. The octogons were even lined up by their edges. I asked her Grandma three times if she had done it, and she insisted that Dot did it all herself. She even tried getting the squares on, and got them lined up and graduated correctly, but they depend on being right side up to stack properly. I was still amazed. And of course every time I try to video her it ends up a big fail – my computer is full of those! I managed to get a small bit of her stacking the circles up, and I will keep trying to get her with the octogons. I’m sure she will be figuring out the squares soon enough.
