The joy of "Yes, as soon as...."

So, four months into PoT (make that five), Fiora is starting to voluntarily put her breakfast dish at the kitchen sink after breakfast. Cool! Patience pays off, and I'm not using nagging AT ALL, which is such a joy. On the downside of this, she's watching videos many mornings because that's so reliably something she asks for! (and hence allows the use of "yes, as soon as...").

Another milestone: Fiora has started telling us she's sleepy sometimes, and will allow us to leave before reading the book 3 times if she's sleepy (ie, no tantrums) - we both honor her by asking if she wants to keep the book in bed or have us put it away, and she gets her choice there. We also count "one, two, three!" with her as we put out the light, and that little routine seems to help her, too. The biggest thing, I have to say, has been what all the experts say: having a bedtime routine. She LOVES yelling out what we'll start with (brushing teeth!), or pjs, or book - she really does find power in the routine.

Also, I've been getting a little frustrated that she's in and out of the kitchen pantries, cuboards, and refrigerator at LOT. Just yesterday, though, I was wondering what it is that she's enjoying the most these days. It used to be coloring was her passion. Now...I'm just starting to realize that its story-telling (getting so much more vocal and rambling, and of course difficult to follow at this stage!) and kitchen-play. So...when she started bringing dirt in various tupperware and dishes inside (through the dog door) tonight, I slowly came up with a plan. "You need an outside kitchen! Wait here, I'll be right back!" And I brought up an old crate I'd bought at the Junk Shop in town (just because it was old and cool, though it hasn't had a job at our house until now), plunked it down outside so the top faced forward and made a "shelf" space, and said, "Now you have an outside kitchen where you can play with dirt!"

At first she wasn't quite sure, but then her father popped by and asked, "Hey, Fiora, is that your outside kitchen?" and that prompted a quick "Yes!" She stocked it full of breakfast dishes and toy pans, and we were all happy. I LOVE win-win solutions.

Next problem: While there's a part of me that admires the creativity involved when one plays with one's food at the dinner table, I find it distracting from the business of eating and enjoying food and conversation and company. This may be more like those problems that get listed during the week and by the weekend they're not really problems anymore. Fiora doesn't really play with her food for long before we start asking if she's done, and then she'll announce that she's done and down she goes!

Other next problem: I don't like it when our food gets used as play items; I believe it is wasteful, and I don't like cleaning it up if it gets left out, and I don't like some foods getting stale, and I worry about bugs getting into the jars. Fiora is getting into my click-top glass jars with nuts, lentils, and raisins. She can open them now, which is fun, and she loves to play with the foods and sometimes eat them. I haven't made a rule about these, I've been really ambiguous about it (why, I don't know! guilt about suppressing child-creativity????). I'm thinking I would be willing to give her a small glass jar of her own, as long as she is careful with it (it would need to stay inside where we could clean it up if it broke), but our food jars are off limits. And I'm also thinking that I need to involve her in making breakfast (like when I make eggs, or pancakes) and lunch (not a frequent thing due to work) and dinner (though this has to be fast most nights so she can get to bed, which may work against us). Gods, I love writing this stuff out!