Imagination, Sharing, and Patience

"What are you eating, Cora? Are you eating candy?" I heard Brad say in the garage.

Did Brad give Cora candy? Why would he have done that? Our policy has been that as long as we can keep her in the dark about such things, the less we have to patrol her candy/sugar intake. Why would he suddenly introduce her to it?

"Go show Mommy what you have, Cora. Can you share with Mommy?" Brad said. Cora entered the room and walked toward me carrying an old, empty Altoid container. She came over to me, pinched her fingers together pretending to pick up a "candy" and put it in my mouth.

"Mmm, thank you, Cora," I said.

"Dan-coo," she repeated back to me, as she proceeded to fetch another "candy" and put it in her mouth. Satisfied with having shared with Mommy, she sat down next to the cat and offered him a candy, also.

I'm glad her candy comes in sharable portion sizes. I'm glad that even in her imagination, we can practice sharing.

"Turn" is one of Cora's new words, and ideas. Sharing food, when there is plenty to go around, has been a joyful thing for Cora. She seems to enjoy sharing her food and drinks: giving a bite of something she's eating to someone else is fun for her. Sharing toys, on the other hand, is a completely different story. So the idea of "taking turns" is making it's way into Cora's vocabulary.

This morning she was playing with our friend Liam in an infant car seat. Liam had just sat down in it and Cora, in a panicky voice, says "Turn??!!" Translation: Isn't it Cora's turn yet? Can't I have a turn?

Liam, the older and wiser friend, kindly exited the car seat and allowed Cora to have her beloved turn in the car seat. Thank you, Liam.

Perhaps patience is another idea we need to infuse into Cora's concept of taking turns...