Two New Games

#1

Fiona mixes up some "food" with a spoon and a bowl. She then tries to give one of her parents a bite. Our job is to respond "I don't liiiike it!" in as whiny a voice as we can manage. Fiona doubles over in laughter.

Fiona seems to have taken this game home from day care, where we assume her day care provider plays the role of parent. The first time she tried to play with us, we enthusiastically made "yummy" noises as she offered us bites only to be confused when Fiona started yelling "no no!" at us for playing the game wrong. Finally fully frustrated, Fiona gave her Mommy the spoon so that Mommy could try to feed her. She then cried out "I don't like it" and doubled over in laughter at her own reaction.

#2

Fiona gets into a tug of war at the dinner table with her Mommy, using a spoon or napkin or any other convenient object. She and Mommy then yell "let go!" at each other until one of them wins the tug of war. If Mommy wins, Fiona yells "no no no" and then reaches to start over again (after all, the game isn't supposed to end with Fiona losing!). If Fiona wins, she smiles and then yells at Mommy "Go away!" while Mommy pretends to cry.

Okay, maybe she hasn't fully developed a sense of empathy or gracious winning just yet.