The kids had fun doing sand art today – coloring pictures with colored sand, and Livi played a couple of matching games with tool cards and transportation cards. Then they played “Dora & Diego.” Declan said, “Dora, there’s a monster coming!” Livi replied, “Oh, Diego, you say that all the time!” Too funny. Declan explored the house and assessed the upstairs as “safe” but was still cautious about monster possibilities downstairs. Livi took a bathroom break, and Declan was impatiently waiting to save an animal, as well as stopping Swiper (they both chanted together, D in the living room, Livi from the “throne,” “SWIPER NO SWIPING” until Livi proclaimed Swiper as all done). Then, “Alicia” (Livi) came into the kitchen at one point urgently asking for “Diego” to help an animal in trouble! “Diego” (Declan) said, “I’ll be right there! I’ve got to finish baking these cookies!” Alicia protested, “But there’s an animal in trouble!” Declan said, in kind of an annoyed voice, “I’m *com*ing…” Their play is punctuated at some point by “Map! Map!” As they talk out a route to the ice cream store, and they’re both delighted to discover they both love mint ice cream! Declan then invited Livi to sleep over, she graciously accepted, and now they’re back to saving some animals.
Livi had so many presents for Declan today! A note in a real envelope, a piece of candy, his sweatpants that she had borrowed last week (“Look mom, she gave me sweatpants!” “Those are yours, Declan…” “Yes, mom, Livi gave them to me!” Uh, never mind…), and a Backyardigans CD! They danced around, Livi kept saying “This is my favorite song” or “This is my favorite part.”
The best part was witnessing their tea party. First, they had a pretend tea party, then they had a “real” one for their snack: decaf Earl Grey (they insisted on having cream and sugar for their tea, with beautiful decorative sugar cubes) and chocolate peanut butter chip cookies, along with hotdogs and mac & cheese for lunch. Yum!
Livi and Declan’s sleepover turned out to be part of their playtime. Both of them just went potty (“It’s the middle of the night, we had to go!”) and then snuggled into bed in separate rooms, each cuddling their doll’s characters (Declan/Diego; Livi/Dora). Then they “woke up” and watched Dora on TV.
Making sand pictures
Discussing the “Backyardigans”
“Tea for two…and two for tea…”
