Puzzle Masters

I'm not the kind of mom who gets down on the floor and plays with Madeline all the time.  Of course I do, but not as much as I probably should. First off, I think it's really important for kids to learn to play independently without an adult breathing down their necks directing the game.  But mostly, I just don't like playing with Legos that much. (Ducks head in shame.) I'm a pro in the reading stories, cuddling, and coloring departments though.  I also really like it when Madeline makes me pretend pancakes.  We all have our strengths.

Luckily for little Maddie Bear, Dada is great at playing all the games that Mumma avoids.  As soon as Eric gets home from work, she asks him to play with her, and most of the time, he's more than willing to dive right in.  In fact, I think he enjoys the Legos more than she does.  He builds great towers.    

Recently, the two of them have become very interested in puzzles.  Madeline's at an age where she can do the simple baby ones without breaking a sweat, and she's moved on to figuring out more complex puzzles with only slight nudging from an adult.

Eric decided it would be fun for the two of them to get a challenging puzzle to work on together, so over the weekend he brought her to the toy store to pick one out.  She picked a 3D picture of the Disney villains with really small pieces.

The two of them set their puzzle up at the dining room table and quietly began piecing it together.  It's pretty amazing to watch Madeline try to figure out how the shapes and colors fit.  More often than not, she simply tries to force the wrong pieces in place, but she's getting the hang of it.

Mostly, I like to listen to the conversations Eric and Madeline have while they work.  Long after Madeline grows bored with the puzzle, she continues to sit next to Eric chit-chatting or playing with other toys.

This afternoon I listened to them sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" as if opera stars.  Eric followed up this performance  by purposely singing the wrong lyrics to Madeline's favorite Disney songs, ("Tale as old as time, grapes grow on a vine...Beauty and the Beast.") for which he was quickly reprimanded by an indignant three year old.

And then there are conversations like this:

Madeline:  Can I be a choo-choo train when I grow up?  
Eric:  You want to be a choo-choo?
Madeline:  Uh-huh.
Eric:  Well, you can't be a train, but you could drive a choo-choo train.  Is that what you mean?
Madeline:  Uh-huh.  Can I drive a choo-choo when I grow up?
Eric:  Sure.  That would be fun to drive a train, wouldn't it?
Madeline:  Uh-huh.

I love watching their relationship grow as she gets older.  I'm a lucky wife.  And although Madeline's always been a bit of a Mumma's girl, I get the feeling that while she'll go through the awkward teenage stage of hating her mother, she'll always have a soft spot for her Dada.