When children are young, there are certain games you can play with them to both engage their imaginations and to fill the void of them not quite being ready to throw the ball around and play big kid games. Ryne is opening up to all kinds of new things. It’s like he was asleep, and now he’s really, really awake. So, I thought I would introduce him to some new games and see what he thought of them since it’s his first go around.
1: I’ve got your nose. This is the game where you pretend to rip your child’s nose off their face, and then for good measure, show them that you’ve done it and taunt them that you have it and that you may not give it back.
Dad: Hey Ryne, look, I’ve got your nose!
Son: What?!?!?! Oh my gosh! oh my gosh! Why would you do that? I need it to breathe, and my face is my moneymaker. Wait…wait, nevermind. I see what you’ve done here. That’s just your thumb.
Dad: No, it’s your nose!
Son: Then what’s this thing with nostrils that I can both see and feel on my face. And I can still smell. Is that me or you?
Dad: I just had a shower. Must be you.
Son: Well, aren’t you smug? I’m a baby…if I smell bad, it’s still your fault.
2. Peek-a-Boo: This is where you cover your face with your hands, and pretend you’ve disappeared. Then when your child is just starting to feel that sense of abandonment, you open your hands, revealing you haven’t really gone anywhere at all. They are relieved, and thus smile and/or laugh. I wasn’t sure Ryne was old enough for this particular game, but I thought I would see what he thought anyway.
Dad: (Covers face with hands) Where’s Daddy?
Son: What’s going on here? I don’t get it?
Dad: (Uncovers face) Peek-a-Boo! I see you! (Covers Face again)
Son: Of course you can see me, I’m right here. You’re only two feet away.
Dad: (Uncovers face) Peek-a-Boo! I see you! (Covers Face again)
Son: Wait…when you cover your face, you can’t see me? Am I disappearing? When you cover your face, does that mean I suddenly leap into a parallel universe? I don’t believe it.
Dad: (Uncovers face) Peek-a-Boo! I see you!
Son: Of course you do…and if you would quit putting your hands over those eye thingys, I’m sure you would not stop seeing me. Now…How about “seeing” your way to getting my diaper changed?
3. The Tickle Monster: This is the game where you get to attack your child, slightly torture them until they can hardly breathe and their ribs ache, but it’s all OK…because they laugh through it all.
Dad: Here comes the tickle monster!
Son: Where?!?!?!? Aren’t you supposed to protect me from the monsters? I don’t need a “the redcoats are coming” type of warning, I just need you to “Shock and Awe” them away.
Dad: (Commences with the tickling)
Son: Oh, it’s you. You’re the tickle monster.(giggling) Is the tickle monster a vampire-type that can only (giggling) come out at night, or werewolf-type where I (giggling) only have to deal with this on a full moon? (giggling)
Dad: Here comes the tickle monster! (More tickling).
Son: I know, you told me before. (giggling) You know, a more effective monster (giggling) wouldn’t (giggling) warn (giggling) his victims. He would just (giggling) come with a surprise (giggling) attack. (giggling)
Dad: OK, I guess you’ve had enough.
Son: (Breathless) That’s it? that wasn’t so bad. I would drop the “monster” moniker if I were you, though. I would call yourself, “The Annoyer.”
Dad: So you didn’t like the Tickle Monster?
Son: I’m not saying that I wasn’t slightly amused, and it did make me laugh. I’m just saying that the “monster” part is a little misleading. I mean, at first, I was scared. I was expecting some puncture wounds in the neck, maybe even a severe mauling. But there was just the constant flutter of your fingers on my ribs and underneath my arms, and for some reason laughter escaped from somewhere deep inside of me and I couldn’t control it. Actually, now that I think about…can we do it again Daddy?
My son is too smart for his age. It’s both a blessing and a curse. I don’t know where he gets it from at only two months old. I guess we finally found one of the games he likes. Please, do me a favor and give me some suggestions on more games to play with Ryne. I will try them out on him, and we will give you the results here…but I NEED your suggestions!
Connor always loved anything that involved bouncing or spinning around. Start slow with the spinning. You don’t want his head to fall off…and you really don’t want to see what he ate during the previous meal. That’s just gross. I love my son…just not everything that comes out of him.
You are right; the “baby-speak” blogs are the best!!
Umm…..Vivi Grace likes all those games too. Also, she giggles her head off when I sing Old McDonald Had A Farm and do the animal noises. She loves that! And I like to play the “I’m gonna drop you!” game… I know, it sounds bad, but she loves it!! I don’t REALLY drop her. But I just hold her up high and then say, “Momma’s gonna drop you! WEEEEE!!” and act like I’m dropping her. She laughs and smiles alot when I do that!
[...] we’ve been working on)! I picked him up and put him in my lap. We laughed and played “Tickle Monster.” When we were done with that, he slid back down to get in the floor and crawled back over to [...]