Playing nicely

Pretending to decorate our
pretend Christmas tree.

At least once a week, we clean the playroom (formerly, the family room). That means putting every single toy in its place (or close enough), under penalty of timeout or a favorite toy being hidden away (which Kalina always needs to know every detail of--will the Camel and Skunk puppets be in a box? In a closet? Who will be able to reach them? When will we get them back? Will they be scared? You're missing the point, Honey.). We do mini cleanups in the interim, but the weekly cleaning is particularly serious, as once the floors are cleared off, the vacuum will be coming through. VROOOMMM!

The vacuum, by the way, used to be enough to convince Kalina to clear every single toy away. But after seeing Elise snuggle up to the large appliance, help me push it and squeal with glee every time I "vacuumed her toes," and observing that no harm came of it, the 3-year-old forgot her fear in lieu of a teensy bit of jealousy, and joined in the games.

It now take about 15 minutes to vacuum two rugs once the toys are picked up, as each girl needs plenty of turns to push the heavy beast, and yet I want to clean every single inch. Among the three of us, we make it a pretty inefficient process, but it gets done. Weekly.

So you can imagine my smile of dismay as I see the playroom regain its clutter within an hour, or first thing the next morning. 

Smile of dismay? I can't help but smile--while Elise wanders around methodically testing each and every object she can reach, including all the combinations of objects, Kalina has only one purpose for the toys: taking care of Lamby or taking care of Elise. 

I occasionally look up from making breakfast, or cleaning up lunch, to see Elise happily wading through a pile of toys, which Kalina adds to fast as she can. And then in a sweet little voice, "Here Elise, look! It's a bowl of ice cream for you! Look! Have a taste!" or "Elise, I'll let you play with my horsey!" To which Elise is often oblivious, which deters Kalina virtually not at all.

Sometimes Kalina invents a new game, which Elise invariably adores. Once it was throwing soft objects over the recliner. Would I have objected a year ago? Yes. Did I smile and commend Kalina for being careful to only throw soft thing when I saw it a week ago? Yes I did. They were cute, happy together, and not really hurting anything--and I could get the dishes done.

No, of course it's not all fun and games. Kalina enjoys mentally labeling toys as hers or Elise's, which can be cause for conflict: "This toy doesn't say Elise anymore, now it says Kalina!" she'll joyfully tell me when she wants to play with Elise's toy puppy. To be fair, it goes the other way, too and the bigger girl at times graciously assigns her own animals to the littler one, who sometimes accepts them only with suspicion (will they be grabbed back?). Kalina has also learned the arts of trading and taking turns--sometimes, anyway.

Elise enjoys the entertainment of an older sibling, and has already learned how to feed Pink Bear (Elise's version of Lamby!), pour her a pretend glass of milk and give her a drink, give her rides on various vehicles, including a bean bag chair that she pulls along behind her, and much more. I envision lots of stuffed animal birthday tea party picnics in the girls' future. Cute!

And this is why our rug is always messy, and why I don't put a stop to it.