Spiders + Dirt

William has really, really developed a passion for imaginative play. He makes up scenarios with his toys and is able to spend a significant chunk of time playing out these "games" either by himself or with one of us. While this is a wonderful development, it can occasionally be difficult to get him to let go of the game to do other things. Like eat lunch, go to story time at the library or get dressed. Luck for me, many of his games can be carefully altered and delicately reworked to allow us to accomplish daily living.

Recently, we've had some guests of the imaginary variety. See, in each of William's hands are a spider. The spiders come and play games, read books and entertain him in the car. Most notably, they are huge assistants in accomplishing tasks William is not interested in doing. They come out and help him put on his clothes in the morning and his pj's at night. They help him eat vegetables on his plate and pick up the toys around the house. They put on his shoes and coat before going outside. A majority of the time, William calls up the spiders and has a quiet conversation with them before beginning a task. Totally adorable to watch, utterly impossible not to laugh. I will admit to calling for their assistance on a few occasions in order to hurry things up. Without the help of our friendly spiders, it can take upwards of 15 minutes to put on his coat and shoes (velcro, one strap for the record). With the spider friends, we have it down to under 5 minutes. Astonishing. Wonderful. And adorable.



Also, Amelia ate dirt today for the first time in big, huge handfuls. We were outside playing/working and I turned to find she had pulled herself up on a planter and was alternately throwing dirt out on the ground and stuffing fistfuls of the stuff into her mouth. Needless to say, outside playtime was over and bathtime began. Immediately.