dumping bins of toys onto the floor, while Timmy was strategically placing large, locking plastic blocks on top of one another in a row of towers. âHereâs your perfect example of the differences between these two, playing out right in front of you,â Emily said softly.
He followed her gaze. âTwo kids playing. Nothing too earth-shattering there, right?â
âTimmy is on the floor, focused and intent, creating structures, then placing them where he wants them. If he doesnât like the effect, he moves the little building and re-creates the scene.â
âYouâre making block towers seem pretty sophisticated, Emily.â He grinned and reached for her jacket, then hung it up. âAnd while every father wants their kid to be a rocket scientist or cure cancer, I think weâve got a ways to go.â
âTimmyâs play is sophisticated for a young two-year-old. It shows memory, thought and process, then rearranging as needed, which means reasoning. Dollyâs dumping is more along the lines of your typical one-year-old, seeing bright things, dumping bright things, then overwhelmed by the melee and unable to put the bright things away.â
âShe hates picking up and she loves destroying anything Tim makes. Which is what sheâs about to do right now.â He crossed the room quickly, scooped Dolly up, told her no and set her back down.
She dropped to her knees instantly, turned and aimed for Timâs plastic block city.
Once again Grant intervened as Emily withdrew a set of finger cymbals from her bag. She stepped into the room, sat down on the floor and chinged the tiny instruments together.
Dolly turned, drawn to the sound. âBa?â
âMusic.â Emily tapped the tiny cymbals together rapidly, happy, dancing notes floating through the air. âMusic.â
âBa!â Dolly race-crawled her way as fast as she could go. âSo ba!â
âYou like music, Dolly-girl?â Emily raised her hand up, operating the metallic circles just out of Dollyâs reach.
Dolly grabbed Emilyâs arm, intent on the noise. She pulled herself up to her knees, mesmerized by Emilyâs action. âBa! Ba! Ba!â
âMusic,â Emily repeated and eased herself up onto the couch. âDing! Ding! Ding! Music.â
âTing! Ting!â Dolly screeched the word, excited, then pulled herself up to a standing position, trying to get closer to the noise again. âTing!â
Emily reached her free hand into her bag and brought out a little bell for Grant. âRing this and move over there,â she told him as she kept the flashy little cymbals playing. âJust far enough away so she might think about walking.â
She didnât look at him to see if he was uncertain because even if he was, she wasnât. The thought of Dolly not achieving all God created her for was too sad to contemplate, so she wouldnât think about it. Grant wouldnât have requested her advice if he didnât recognize the problem, so that was a big first step.
She stopped making music when Grant was in position and pointed to him. He rang the bell, a lilting, joyful sound. Dolly turned, surprised to hear music from behind. âBa! Ting!â
âMusic,â Grant told her, following Emilyâs lead. âDing-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong!â
âTing!â Dolly laughed and reached. âTing!â
âGood talking,â said Emily. âGo get the bell, Dolly. Go get it from Daddy.â
âTing.â Dolly looked at her, then Grant and her forehead furrowed. âTing! Ting! Ba!â
âYou can have the bell if you go get it,â Emily told her. Dolly was clinging to the couch with one hand, fully standing on her own. âGo get it, sweet thing.â
âBa!â Dollyâs face darkened as she realized what they wanted. Emily had to hand it to the kid, for a two-year-old with developmental
P. J. Parrish
Sebastian Gregory
Danelle Harmon
Lily R. Mason
Philip Short
Tawny Weber
Caroline B. Cooney
Simon Kewin
Francesca Simon
Mary Ting