It's Very Puzzling, Indeed!

I approached this past Friday with much anticipation and a little concern. I watched Callie while Ruth and Chad had an evening out. Their 3rd anniversary was earlier in the week and they went out to dinner in Fort Worth, exploring the Seventh Street re-vitalization.

After an earlier baby-sitting episode with Callie, I was prepared to work through her separation anxiety. (Callie and Ruth are BFFs and Callie's routine is that she's never without her Mommy.)

I started my Christmas shopping for Callie in September and had a set of 5 wooden puzzles for her. The puzzle pieces have little handles on them so a toddler can have more dexterity.

So--Callie was happy to see me when I arrived, taking note that I was carrying a package into the house. While I was briefed on Callie's eating, napping, and anticipated bedtime, Callie went over to her highchair and started pushing it to the dining table. A good sign, Ruth and Chad were preparing to leave and then Callie and I could settle down to cantaloupe, string cheese, and turkey.

On their way out, Callie looked at me with a little trepidation, then tuned up. I'm sure Ruth and Chad heard her in the garage. I swooped her up and we went to the backyard. The setting sun was warm in the cool breeze and we saw some birds fly over. She settled a little bit and we went inside to eat supper. This was a welcome distraction and I marveled that she fed herself and drank milk from her cup just like a big girl. She wanted to share her cantaloupe. When she was finished, we washed up and began to play with a myriad of stuff.

She kept looking at the package on the table. I put her back in the highchair and opened the package, freeing a puzzle from it's sturdy shrinkwrap and placed it on her tray. She looked it over and smiled up at me, recognizing one of the pieces as a puppy. I showed her how to remove the pieces. She had that down pat! She transferred every piece to the corner of her tray---then handed each one to me to put back in place. We talked about each animal--there were some she did not recognize...an octopus and a lion. Like a doting grandmother, I made the appropriate animal noise for them all. Callie thought the lion was a cat---but I told her no---it was a lion and proceeded to growl and roar (there's a side story to that). After we thoroughly explored that puzzle, she looked over and pointed to the stack of unwrapped puzzles and said "This!" I was obedient, and opened three more...each time we went through the same ritual. We had a great time!

She found her "Chicken Dance" musical birthday card and brought it to me so she could dance. We unloaded quite a few things from the toy basket, then settled in to read books. She brought me "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" (her first book from Aunt Brooke---and still a favorite). When we came to the page with the cat, I meowed and Callie looked up at me, smiled, and roared like a lion---oh dear, I had confused the sweet baby! (I hope she forgot all about the lion/cat on the puzzle.)

Callie began rubbing her nose and fidgeting---a look at the clock showed it was almost bedtime. All of a sudden, she looked up at me with a panicked, troubled look and said "Mommy!" Then the floodgates opened. While she had been successfully distracted and enjoyed whatever we were doing, she still knew that it was bedtime and Mommy wasn't there. I changed her into PJ's and we went to the table for her bedtime yogurt/cereal. After she ate, she wandered around clutching a small bunny by the ears, looking for Ruth and Chad. A little distressed, she was. I scooped her up, gave her a sweet kiss, held her tight and we made our way to the nursery. She went out like a light!