Twenty

We leave in twenty days!

We let the boys each pick out a toy for us to take for Katie.  We've picked up several other small toys to bring to play with while we're visiting Katie, and all of them are things that we can leave there.

This is what we're bringing for her.

We plan to bring a couple of items each day so we've got new things for her each time we go.

We have the photo book we made her, a silky blanket I made for her, some egg shaped shaker noise makers, and some flat pack Play-Doh.

Jack picked the purple doll.

David picked the stacking cups.  And yes, she's 4 years old, but she will not cognitively be like a 4 year old [ie: Jack].  I think the stacking cups are appropriate, given that we don't know where she will fall developmentally.  Henry picked the two Little People cars with the girls driving.  We also have a little Magna Doodle and a kaleidoscope.

We have a little princess flip phone that lights up and makes noise.  We've got a small Etch-A-Sketch and two books - the farm book has different textures throughout, and the Toes, Ears, & Noses book has flaps to lift.  We're bringing a little Mrs. Potato Head and some extra parts, and a coloring book and crayons.  Many of these toys have a "hidden" purpose of allowing us to see how her fine motor skills are - whether she can hold a crayon and knows what to do with it, if she can manipulate Play-doh or lift the flaps in the book, if she can press individual buttons on her phone and manipulate the pieces of Mrs. Potato Head, if she can stack the cups and/or understands the sequencing of stacking them and knocking them down, and if she knows what to do with a doll.  I tried to pick items that were sort of dual purpose, so I can come back and have a bit of a better idea of where she stands developmentally at this point.

I will definitely leave her blanket with her, which I made.  I will also leave her photo book.  And, if she'd like to keep the hair bow, I'm happy to leave it.  She will be a Southern girl after all, so she needs to get used to wearing one!

TWENTY DAYS!