Oh, how good it is to be healthy! :)

All last week, since coming back from Georgia, Adelaide was sick. :(
The nasty stomach flu, that we all got there, she had it badly, and it wouldn't let go. Quite depressing.. She had never been so sick and for so long.

But yesterday evening, finally !!! there was a shift - suddenly the tired, clingy, weak and sad looking child was gone, and active, happy Adelaide, full of life and smiles, was back! :) Cannot describe our joy! Health is the most important.. Especially your child's.

So today finally is a happy day. :) She was interested in her toys and playing again.
And here comes my part. Summer is gone, really gone.. (it's cold.) Our trip is done. So now we have to switch to a full on home, mostly indoor life. Of course, we would still go outside, hopefully.
Her toys, her shelves haven't been organized since spring, I think.. Not much anyway. And as I wrote previously, she really would need some new toys, and I would think about it in the autumn.. So now is autumn and is time to think about it.

I have thought about it.. I definitely want to buy her some new stuff. And make some stuff, especially some practical life activities, myself as well. I want to re-arrange the kitchen area, Mr. Husband has many building projects going on.. Big plans, big plans. I really would like to give this all some good effort, really create some good play and work environment for her - until the second baby arrives! Because after that probably life will be pretty hectic for a while..

So the first thing that had to be done, and I started immediately today - her play corner and her shelves had to be re-organized! They were a mess!

The before pictures:

I really needed to make some bigger changes this time. The shelf space seems super small now, she has a lot of stuff already.. I probably should take some away, that she doesn't play with. I didn't take away too much yet, as I don't have that much to replace them with yet. But as I am going to be buying or making more stuff, I plan to take away the things she will not be using, to avoid overcrowding the area again. I really want to start introducing some real Montessori shelf work on trays now, as she is becoming mature enough to actually do some.
(The point is that a certain work is always in it's tray - child takes the tray, does the work, and puts it back on the tray once it's done. This is really more about learning and working than playing already. Of course, at this age work is still quite simple.)

So the after pictures:

In the past week, when Adelaide wasn't playing at all, the cat totally occupied her carpet. :D It will be difficult to convince him now that it's not his.
And as you can see.. Clean, organized space causes interest (in old, forgotten things) immediately. :)

So what was done?

I took all of the music instruments we have (she hadn't cared about them) and put them together in a box. I would like to keep them available, as the interest might appear. Also, get some new ones, like a xylophone.

I removed all the dolls and the stuffed animals, as they were crowding the upper shelf, and created a new space for them. There should come a doll bed and other doll things sometime eventually (really need that play room).

Almost needless to say, she right away loved the dolls there. She was sitting with them on the pillow. :) I put also cars there.. (She has 2 cars now.) But she put the cars in a different place herself. ;) Of course, she's right, cars and dolls are not the same thing.

I put separate works in trays (sadly plastic, I couldn't find any wooden ones in our local shop, and they are cheaper too..).
Here are close-ups of the shelves.

This is a peg puzzle I found. We have many, but most of them are still too difficult for her, so she gets frustrated. Interestingly, this was is easier (the pieces go in their place easier), so she can even do it herself, so she likes it.

The toy in the middle - Estonian Vippa toy, that we got as a gift, finally she can use it! I discovered it a couple of days ago, and she actually enjoys it! She really is trying hard to get the top of the lace into a hole. She can do it. Harder part is to understand, that it has to be turned around, to keep it from falling out while doing it, and then pull it out.. A difficult concept for her. But today I noticed, that she almost was able to do it!

The other shelves..

So, on the middle shelf to the right are old items - coin box and the little sticks with the pepper jar (she likes that one still). So, as she still likes to put tiny items into holes, I made another one, with a cup we bought:

We'll see, if she will still like these.

She also quite likes to put lids on things and close them, so I made this tray, will be interesting to see, if she will like to practice with these.. Different jars and their lids.

On the bottom shelf, to the right I also put three empty carton boxes in a basket. She could open and close those as well, even though they probably will not last for long.

And then there are two trays with shape matching toys. This one is new, we just bought it:

There says 18+ months on the box, but the picture on the box is of a small baby. :D This is quite a popular toy, I guess, but I'd say it's still difficult for her. She understands the concept, she tries to put the blocks in the holes, but.. mostly in the wrong ones. She doesn't yet analyse the shape of the hole and shape of the block. I tried demonstrating it.. We will see, if she catches on.

And the other one is actually a similar concept, this one we have forever, I'm just looking to see if she will become interested in it.

I wasn't sure as whether to offer only some of the blocks for start, or all of them at once. I decided on all of them.

And I removed all the books from this corner, up until now we had books in two places, some were here and the rest were in the book shelf. Now they all will be in the book shelf, only this also needs some organizing. :) Probably I should put the less read books higher, and the more popular ones more visibly available. She has quite many books, and she likes them, even though not all of them, it's difficult to predict, which ones she will like.

But what does she like now? :) She seems to like her bike. And to ride it together with dolls!

The next is kitchen's turn.. :) And so many other big plans, mostly about practical life and including her in all kinds of work around home and helping me. Hope the 3rd trimester will be easy on me and I will have enough energy for it all! :D