Today's been a mellow day. Holland woke up a little after 9, which was nice since he'll be needing to get up earlier for Lab School. The two have been playing quite well together today, which is nice to see - not just playing well in the same vicinity, but interacting well, playing chase games, hiding games, and screaming games. The screaming was loud, but I just keep some distance. I don't want to break up such pure fun if I can help it : ) At one point, Holland bopped Sofia with something and Sofia complained to me. I continue to encourage her to take charge in standing up for herself, instead of just being a victim. Even though she tells me that Holland doesn't know any words, I tell her that her words are just as powerful as mine. And even though Holland doesn't say many words, he understands a lot. I've observed her several times telling him to stop if she doesn't like it. In general, I've just been working with her to talk with Holland about things. Sometimes she'll take something away from him (if she wants it or if he shouldn't have it for some reason) or try and pull him somewhere. I continue to remind her to talk to Holland about what she's thinking. It not only respects Holland more as someone who can understand our reasoning, it also exposes Holland to more speech and shows him that that is the way to get your ideas across, not force. The respect that I insist Sofia shows to Holland is the same respect that I insist Holland shows to Sofia.
After lunch, we went out to the deck to play with water and soap. I put a cloth and a sponge in, along with our regulars (jugs and cups). It's interesting to watch the two play with the same things in completely different (but developmentally appropriate paths). Holland is interested in the sensory and mechanics of it. He touched the bubbles, after the water poured in and created them. He would lift up the sponge and watch the water dribble out of it. But more than anything, he was interested in matching which caps went to which jugs. Sofia on the other hand was all about the pretend play. She chose to use the sponge and cloth to clean. She likes a good challenge (as most children do), and also used the cup to carefully pour water from the largest mouth into the smallest mouth - the 2 liter bottle.
I read "The Going to Bed Book" by Sandra Boynton to Holland before putting him in his crib to sleep. He happily sat in my lap and stayed still for almost all of it. I'll try and read to him every day this week before he goes down for his nap to associate it with a nap (though he knows when I tell him we're going to sleep). I'm hoping it will help him anticipate going to sleep and help him learn to start relaxing while he reads a book. I'll probably talk to him more on Friday about "saying goodbye" to his pacifiers on Monday.
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