Julia works, and Madeleine plays

This morning, Julia decided to play "work." Even though she comes with me regularly to the piano lessons I teach, it must be that her concept of work is defined by what Ethan does, because her game was really playing "Daddy at work." She got her little Pooh computer and her play cell phone and sat at the end of the table. Here's a synopsis of how her game went: she would sit and rapidly type away at the keys on her Pooh computer, with a look of serious concentration on her face. Every two seconds or so, she would chime, "Ding-a-ling-a-ling," then look over at her phone in exasperation, and exclaim, "Oh, it's AGAIN!" Then she would pick up the phone and talk to whoever it was that called (Yia-yia, Neva, Auntie Caitlyn, Auntie Shannon, and Nana.) She would put the phone down and resume her furious typing, only to be interrupted over and over by the ringing phone. At one point, she announced that she was taking a little break, because it was lunch time. Then she said, "But Mama, when Daddy said it was lunch time, he was STILL working. I saw that he was still typing. So I guess I'm NOT taking a little break." Then she opened her computer back up and resumed the cycle of typing and answering phone calls. Finally, she declared, "Mama! It's the weekend!" and packed up her computer and phone and returned them to the toy bin.





Madeleine, on the other hand, is more interested in exploring her surroundings than imitating what she sees. Last night, it was unbearably hot down in the living room, after a day of blazing temperatures and high humidity, so in the last half hour before bedtime, I brought her up to play in her room, where I could turn on the air conditioner. She spent a good deal of the time playing - where else? - under her crib:



And although she had plenty of toys and books to play with,:



she decided to shun them in favor of this aluminum cap, which she flapped around gleefully while saying "Da da da da da da da!":





To each his/her own, I suppose!

And on a final note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ETHAN!!!