Playing

Since Claire has been walking and getting up on her own she is so much more independent. I love this new stage because it gives me the freedom to get a couple things done during the day while Claire plays on her own! I also love how I am able to get to know her better as she is able to decide more things for herself, like where she wants to go and what she wants to play with.

Most of the time Claire's "playing" looks a lot like organizing (which makes me extremely happy)! It usually consists of picking up a toy, walking around with it for a while and then putting it down in a random spot which will now be the collection spot she brings a bunch more toys to. Then when she is satisfied with the amount of toys she has brought to that spot she will very selectively bring toys back and forth from where they started back to her collection spot. Usually this activity is accompanied by a cacophony of babbling to herself (or to her toys, I'm not sure which) and much giggling and gasping when something "unexpected" happens. 

In the last couple days Claire has learned the art of relaxing, even during play time. Before she would just start to whine and pull on my pant leg and now she goes and finds one of her more cozy toys (or my iPhone) and lies down on the ground with it. 

Even though Claire is learning to play on her own she still much prefers when someone plays with her. Her favourite thing is to be chased. As soon as someone starts to interact with her she will start running away and looking back hoping they will follow her and when they do she squeals with delight and continues running forward and looking back to see if they are still there. 

Sometimes when she is playing on her own she will try to recreate this game for herself using her little toy train. She sets it up and gets it going and then pretends it is chasing her. It is hilarious to watch as she squeals and runs away especially when the train is going the other direction or stuck against the wall.