The best toys aren't toys at all.

Olivia is in a stage now where her favorite thing to do is whatever she's not supposed to be doing. (I've heard this stage lasts a long, long time.) So, naturally, she plays with her toys for about 3 seconds each, but she can spend fifteen minutes being completely enthralled with the process of inspecting and climbing in her own carseat. Yesterday, I put the carseat in the recliner while I folded some laundry. We were getting ready to go out. I left the room for two seconds, and came back to find that she had pulled the carseat upside down on top of herself (like she was hiding underneath it). She didn't cry...it was like she meant to do that. She fussed when I tried to take the seat away, so I turned it over and let her play with it.


She laughed her evil laugh because she thought she was getting away with something.


Other "non-toys" that she likes to turn into toys include the laundry basket (turned upside down and pushed around like a walker),



Daddy's shoelaces, which are SO FACINATING,


the elliptical machine,


her stroller,


and, best of all, a CELL PHONE! I discovered that my cell phone will entertain her for hours in the grocery store. Better than any toy ever invented. So we dug up one of our old phones and let her play with it when she's trying to eat the remote or some other active electronic device. She thinks she's really getting away with something.


There are a few toys that still capture her attention. The best yet...she's learned to push her little truck without assistance and without falling! She's getting pretty fast too. I think with a little practice, she'll be walking by 9 months! We'll see...