Toys shelf at 11 months

I was hoping that after the long Christmas holidays, Lorenzo would look at his room and toys as if it was the first time.
Instead, the Imbucare box and the stacking tower were suffering from abandonment.
It was time to upgrade the shelf. 

Toy shelf in his room:

1. A tissue box with silk cutouts.
Not really reflecting the aesthetic idea promoted by Maria Montessori but we'll work on that.
At the moment Lorenzo enjoys pulling them out. But they are incredibly versatile, and very much loved. We received them as a present, from here.

2. A DYI imbucare box.

3. Stacking ring tower. 

4. "Sensorial" balls. 
Lorenzo was never particularly warm about them (although it's at least 3 months that he enjoys passing and receiving a ball).

5. Galt pop-up toys. 
As soon as I bought it, I made the mistake of showing him the jumps. He couldn't replicate the movement, and became so frustrated that he was tossing the toy as soon as he saw it. I had to hide it for a couple of weeks.
This is the only toy we bought for him. I like the toys that can evolve. Now he's putting the little men in place, later he'll make them bolt out or use them for colour recognition.

6. Matryoshka.

Other rooms:

Since most of our time is spent in the living room/kitchen, Lorenzo is using his room mostly during the weekends. As a consequence I started paying more attention to the material we spread around the house (before there were just wooden blocks close to the kitchen counter).

At the moment, it counts three areas: 

- some books on our bookshelf, 

- a reserved space in the always-present Expedit 
(how can I speak Montessori without an Expedit).
The Expedit is now devoted to the exploration of musical instruments.
Soon I'll import my old portable stereo to make him independent in the music area. He's a dancer, and deserves a musical area well defined and complete.

- A trolley close to the kitchen counter:

It contains:

1. A plastic book with rhymes.

A present from a friend, and I'm thankful for it. He loves to press the button (it turns red) and dance to the music.

2. a teether. 

3. The stacking cups. 

There are ten cups in total but so far, I have given him only three. This is already challenging enough.

4. Wooden blocks with two containers,

5. Sensory bottles. 

There have been out for a while, but he's only enjoying them now.



He also has a couple of drawers from the kitchen that are safe for him. He loves to pull out cutting board and oven pans. And, surprise surprise, he's starting to put them back in as well! Yey! 

Colpi di testa

There is this one thing that Lorenzo does, which is so tender, so surprising every time. When he hits something with his head, by mistake, delicately enough that he doesn’t start crying, he stops for a couple of seconds, looks at the whatever thing he beat against, and then, consciously, he hits it again. Just like that, a check.

Make him grow, let him grow

Lorenzo is nine months. Nine months seems like a good moment to start writing on his blog, there is a beautiful symmetry about it. Nine months ago he was born, nine months before that he started to exists. 

I don't like symmetry, but it's too long that I want to write of us, and I welcome the excuse gladly. 

We are quiet again after the granparents visits. 

Granpa was shut in Lorenzo's room for a full weekend to renovate it the way I dreamt. He disassembled, drilled, reassembled, created. A beautiful montessori little room. 

And now it's night, it's late. I look at his room. 

Mixed feelings. 

I am grateful, above all - because I could have my way, because of the skills and kindness of Lorenzo's granpa- and I am excited. For the new room, its beauty, the open possibilities. But the excitement is hesitant. It is not (only) the fear that Lorenzo might not like it. It's another fear, deeper. Lorenzo will have his room, his bed, his space. His independence - and all the means to start developing it that we, and I, so strongly wanted. 

He won't be this ball of softness that wakes us up every morning in an over-crowded bed. 

He will grow up. And we have to follow, too. But above all, we'll have to let him grow.