"COME ON, JAKE, LET'S PLAY!"Jake is finally at the age where he and Haley can play together - somewhat peacefully and for the most part safely - for short periods of time. Sure, he still chews on all her toys, grabs things out of her hands, and often isn't interested in being her pet/patient/baby/prince, but they will still disappear into her room to play once in a while. I'll hear her tell him, "No, Jakie, that's not food" or "Come on, Jake, I'll be the mama and you'll be the baby". Which gives me a glipse at the relative heaven my life might be in a year...could the kids possibly play peacefully with each other long enough for me to cook a whole meal? Put a few photos in an album? Write more than 1/2 an e-mail at a time? For now I'll settle for the sweet, if short, play sessions.
One of Haley's all-time favorite things to do is play dress-up. She has a drawer-full of costumes that I found 90% off at Target after Halloween, as well as a few special princess ones. This is one that Santa brought this year, so she could dress up as "Barbie as Genevieve in the 12 Dancing Princesses." She usually goes through several costume changes per day, and often walks out playing the part of some character and we're supposed to play along. It gets a little old sometimes, and I'm beginning to think we really need to give her some role models besides blandly sweet princesses...
One of Jake's favorite things to do right now is rock - yes, musically, but also literally. He discovered the mini rocking chair and spent a morning learning how to climb in and then turn around to sit down in it. That day was filled with many anxious cries and screeches as various limbs snagged in various parts of the rocking chair. He quickly mastered it, though, and soon decided it would be fun to stand in it and rock while holding on to the back. "Sit down, Jake!" has since become an often-repeated phrase in our house.
