When I was home over the holidays I spent as much time with Kylie as I possible could, but one day in particular stands out. On this day I was over at Tiffany’s and I was sitting on the couch when Kylie brought one of her toys over to me and climb into my lap. I am not certain what the name of this toy is, but it has three wires bent into different forms and they all have little wooden beads on them of different colors and shapes, and you can move the beads back and forth along the wire form. Well she brought this toy over to me and sat in my lap with it and we played with this toy together for a long time, at least thirty minutes, which for her to sit still this long and play with this toy with me was incredible. She is usually all about running around and playing with all her other toys, or climbing the stairs, so to have her sitting in my lap and letting me play with this toy with her was amazing. Every now and then she would look up and smile at me while we moved the little beads from one end of the wire form to the other. It was just a wonderful and amazing bonding time with my daughter, times that I miss tremendously while I am out in Minnesota. Well today Tiffany sent me an excerpt from her baby center newsletter that kind of explains why I was able to have this wonderful bonding time with my daughter.

You can practically see the light bulb go on when your toddler first figures out how to fit the pieces of a puzzle together. Simple puzzles, nesting blocks, and stacking toys not only draw on your child’s mental resources, they help refine his fine-motor skills (which until now have probably taken a back seat to more physical activities like running and climbing). While your toddler will continue to burst with energy, he’s also more interested in sitting still longer, especially when there’s a problem to be solved.

I know this explains away this time as just part of her growing up, but in all honesty all that matters to me is that I get to spend time with my “Little Bit.”