Carcassonne (boardgame) for Toddlers

A lifetime time ago, when we were still kidless, we used to get together with friends and spend the evening eating a home-cooked meal, drinking homemade wine, chatting and, eventually, playing Carcassonne. I know, you thought I was going to write “passing out” or some such, but nope, we just played this nerdy board game. …

Spontaneous Crafting and the Bambi Pull Toy

We had a wonderful Sunday filled with family fun. A visit to the Science Museum (DH and I have lived in Boston for almost 10 and this was our first visit!), shopping together (wonderful to see Amie interact with strangers in the store), building and flying paper airplanes (from this wonderful book), reading books and …

Cosleeping Dolls

Over the weekend Amie was presented with a wonderful gift from friends: their daughter’s old doll house. A real, wooden, doesn’t-fall-over-when-you-bump-it doll house! Complete with people and pets and furniture and even a garden for planting. Amie and eight-year-old S who gave it to her (I plan to return it once Amie too has grown …

Letting Her Pour Her Own Tea

DH is a Montessori preschool alumnus and I have always liked the Montessori approach, not knowing very much about it. When it was time to sign Amie up for a preschool, I started reading up on it, because we wanted her to go a Montessori preschool (She didn’t get in because of a stupid breakdown …

Amie Plays the Memory Game

Turns out Baba is just as much a softie as I am. When we went to bed after yesterday’s ordeal, I found Amie had finally fallen asleep in her own little bed. We lay there on our big bed for a minute or two, then I whispered: “I wish she were here with us…” He …

Big Screen TV and Beads

We were on the phone with my parents-in-law and I or DH made a passing reference to watching movies on a big screen tv when at our friends’ place in New York. Amie had been eating her O’s peacefully (more or less), but when she heard that, she piped up: “We’re gonna need a big …

The holidays and progress on the Manush Bari

We’re not really into big festivities round here – it comes with being far away from family, and Amie isn’t into presents and all that (yet). We spent some lovely days with friends in NYC. They’re into big get-togethers with hour-long conversations, heaps of good food and frequent bursts of laughter any time. You find …