Margaret's make believe world

Margaret has recently started incorporating a lot of "make believe" into her play. I don't exactly remember what her play was like before. In fact, I don't really recall how she played at all. Basically, she would pull down a container full of kiddie cups and bowls that she then scattered aimlessly around the kitchen while I cooked dinner. But in the last few weeks, she has started to exhibit substantially more focus with her playthings. She now carries the Tupperware and other food containers around the living room, putting them in bags and putting things in them with some clear objective. She pulls the little chairs from her table around, puts things on her table, on the windowsills, and in bags, and moves around her various dolls. It not clear, to me, what she's doing. And she rarely articulates her objectives, although she'll occasionally make statements like "I'm a mama!" Most of the time, she fiddles around with various stuff while I watch with bemusement trying to figure out what she's doing. As the haphazard nature of this post suggests, it's a bit difficult to explain. But basically, she's started to show a lot more concentration and focus in her manipulation of various toys. I guess that I need to ask her what she's doing while she plays.

She has also started to become much more annoyed with Teddy when he interferes with her play. Teddy isn't nearly as focused as Margaret, but he is interested in whatever his sister is doing. So, reflecting his increased mobility, he heads in her direction and grabs her bowls, shopping bag, Legos, or doll. And she hollers at him. And sometimes pushes him, yelling "No Teddy!" With the end result occasionally being a Margaret meltdown while Teddy stares at me with an innocent expression. It can be very difficult to quell the confrontations when I'm trying to cook dinner while they mill around my legs.

As for the boy, he's starting to vocalize more and more. Tonight, he tried to "sing" the Itsy Bitsy Spider, one of Margaret's favorites. He wasn't able to do much more than wave his hands in the air, sing in a off-tune kind of way, and clap at the end of the song, but he clearly had the right idea. We tried to get a video of his performance, but he mocked me by just grinning at the camera. Still, I think that he's showing an inclination for music before his sister did. Hooray, Teddy!