Circles & Diamonds

I bought Layla a giant Dora coloring book as a treat for when she came home from her first day back at "school." Turns out I didn't need to give it to her because she and Piper were having a grand ol' time playing with each other after an entire day apart. That definitely warmed my heart :-)

Today, I gave it to her and I made a few observations about the growth of her coloring that I was simply not expecting to see.

First, she was holding her crayon more like a big girl and less like a toddler! Instead of "fisting" it, she had it sticking out between her ring and pinky fingers.

Second, she drew a circle! Obviously not a perfect circle, but a circle nonetheless. This stuck out to me as I remember seeing somewhere a picture depicting the evolution of a child's drawings from the straight scratches a toddler makes to stick figures with all parts represented and fairly proportioned. One of the stages was making circular patterns. I had actually forgotten about this progression until tonight.

Third, I noticed her being more aware of what is to be colored and what is not...more aware of the lines. If you look at her drawing, you may not see this at first glance as she was most definitely still going crazy at times with her coloring :-) However, she was seeking out spots within the lines and coloring in those areas a significant amount of time.

Finally, as I was in the kitchen prepping some foods for pureeing for both Piper and our meals (trying out some Deceptively Delicious meals) I heard Layla saying, "Look, I made a diamond, mommy! Look, mommy! I made a diamond!" I really don't know what I expected to see when I walked in, but low and behold, there was a diamond! I could not believe my eyes! Again, not a perfectly formed diamond, but definitely a diamond. I am still in shock!



My little girl is growing so quickly! I hope to take notice and treasure even more of these little steps as she grows and matures into a beautiful young girl.