The first clue

Maybe the first clue should have been how quiet that it was as A. was playing by herself...

Maybe the first clue should have been the beeping that signals that the refrigerator/ freezer door was left open

Maybe the first clue was that I heard A. tell baby Bella that her lunch was ready soon.

But, I was so happy that A. was playing by herself and letting me get some cleaning done that I didn't go check. See, A. is not an independent player.  She needs others and usually needs adults.  I'm sure this is a product of being in daycare since 10 weeks, being the first born, and having a mother that had such mother's guilt that I spent all my time away from work playing on the floor with her.  Now, I'm only working only 2.5 days and we've gotten rid of the cleaning lady.  So, independent play is a skill that I"m trying to foster. 

Well, maybe some ground rules are necessary...

As it turns out, I was organizing and putting away the toys from our first Christmas gift exchange (a beautiful chore to have to do, but a chore none the less) and A. was setting up an ice cream party for her dolls.  She used a spoon and put a scoop (really only a spoonful) in her toy dishes for each of her dolls.  I believe there were about 10 dolls each with their own bowls.  Now, the next step, she had to eat it for them, obviously.  When I asked her about it later, she said, "I didn't want to leave a melty mess"  Again, obviously...

The best part, I came down to this part of the party.  

She was washing and drying the dishes all by herself.  Gotta love her!!