The Funnest Game in the World

"Uh oh! Ellie's got mommy's glasses! Will you give them to me? Give them to me? Give them to me!"

This is the best game ever because it's the first game Ellie's invented and really really loves. I mean, she's played peekaboo for months and she'll gamely clap along with pattycake, but I always get the feeling that she's humoring me. This game is clearly her favorite thing in the world to do other than biting (she's teething, ouch ouch).

Whenever a four-eyed face comes into her general vicinity, she gets a very deliberate look on her face and then her little hand darts out as quickly as a striking viper and before you can blink your glasses are in her hand and she's watching you for your reaction. Now it's your turn. With the proper singsong inflection, you're supposed to say the above line.

And now it's her turn again. She's knows "give it to me." She understands it. She even knows how to release intentionally (a surprisingly complex skill). So you watch her and wait for her to make the next move. And she either smiles and drops the glasses into your outstretched hand or she grins and swivels away from you as fast as she can. That girl can spin on her tushie faster than I could on a sit-n-spin.

The best part about this game, surprisingly, is not the perpetually smeary lenses. It's the pure delight she gets from playing it. She gets that this is a game. She's directing it. It's predictable (from us) and she's running the show. Which is, apparently, absolutely hilarious.