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Sand Stars
Nearby, there’s a little playground on top of a large sandbox. Avey has been fascinated with sand since she first touched it and, consequently, we end up covered in sand several times throughout the week after heading over to the playground. As her fascination has continued, we have tried to come up with more ways to enjoy the sand than her just handing us fistfuls of it (on a side note, the other day she gave me some sand and said, “When you ready to paint with all the colors of the wind,” resembling a scene in Disney’s Pocahontas [beginning at minute 3]). We bought her a little plastic shovel and bucket at the dollar store a while back, and it came with a little mold shaped like a star. Avey has enjoyed making shapes in the wet sand (she often asks me to draw dogs and smiley faces) and so it occurred to me that we could take it another step. We have a huge bucket of plastic cookie cutters of which we will never be able to adequately make use, so we let her pick out six of them to take to the sandbox with us. She picked out two bunny shapes, a butterfly, a heart, a flower, and a ghost that looks like a piggy if you turn it on its side. They work very well and it has become part of the daily routine to go to the sandbox and make what she calls “sand stars.” The other kids at the playground invariably come over to check out what we’re doing and beg to try it out too. Avey’s become quite the popular toddler in the sandbox.
In other news, I defend my thesis tomorrow (cross your fingers) and we celebrate our 5-year anniversary, Kira’s professional license came in the mail, and my little sister moved back home for the summer! Avey’s glad for another fan in town, and we’re excited to have another babysitter! Plus we like her anyway.