Thursday, October 15, 2009

Play Nice!







Last week Lily and I had two really fun playdates! On Wedn. we went to the playground with my friend Caryn and her little girl Leah. Even though it was a cold, blustery morning we had such a good time and the girls were absolutly adorable together. At one point we were trying to encourage Leah to follow/chase Lily and when she wouldn't come (feeling a little shy) Lily came and took Leah by the hand and the two of them held hands as they walked through the playground together. Adorable!
Two days later on Friday we had my good friend Laura's daughter (also named Lily) over for a playdate at our house while her older brother had a doctor's appointment. While Lily and Lily have played together often (sometimes weekly) since they were born (just a few months apart) this was one of the few times that it was just the two of them (no other kids or siblings). As you can see from the pictures they had a great time playing in Lily's room (mostly playing with the kitchen). They have a very sister-like relationship playing really good together 75% of the time and fighting the other 25% of the time (learning to share)!:)
One thing I realized last week as a result of these two playdates is how much better Lily seems to do when she is playing with just one or two other children as oppossed to a group of kids. I've been noticing lately that in larger groups of kids Lily tends to get overwhelmed and really cling to me (which is not at all her personality at home). When it's just one or a few kids Lily seems to do really well playing and interacting both on her own and increasingly with the other children. While I'm not going to stop having her participate in "larger" group situations (like larger group playdates and Toddler Time at the library) this realization is really helpful for me and I think I'll make a greater effort to also arrange smaller playdates for Lily.

No comments: