Our big boy

Last weekend we went to a county event called Block Play. Basically, it's a series of different types of blocks that are set for kids to learn different things. They are set up in different "stations", and you get about 10 minutes per station before moving on to the next one. They explain what the focus of that particular set of blocks is, what kids can do with it to learn different things according to their stage of learning, and then let the kids play as they want with your help.
Evan enjoyed it very much, though he didn't really get what he was supposed to do with many of them, and he got distracted once or twice with stairs and with going back to the previous set of blocks. Still, since that little activity, something clicked in his mind, and he has been far more interested in getting good at a couple of toys.
The shape sorter is one of them. He has one like the one below (but not pink). It's basically a bucket you can open pretty easily, and he usually uses it more like a bucket to put the pieces in and out.
We did a bit of sorting but only with square blocks, but he remembers and is now trying to put the pieces in through the sorter top. He doesn't always get it right, and sometimes he's trying to put it in the right slot but the piece is sideways so it won't fit. However, he's trying and figuring it out.

Another one he's good at now is this:

The stacker. He still gets the order wrong, and he doesn't get them in all the time, but he has successfully done the whole thing a few times. We didn't have this one with us for a couple of months (it was packed with the rest of our things), but now that he found it again, he loves it.

Other things he's into: remotes, TV, and cell phones. Remotes are toys, obviously (or so he wishes, he doesn't get to play with them but sure tries)(and no, we don't want to get him a toy remote). TV is interesting, of course. He loves watching daddy play Wii, or watching sports with him now that we have DirecT.V again. all the colors and movements are attractive. And cell phones. He grabs daddy's phone and puts it up to his ear. Very adorable, but he doesn't get to that often either (and no, we don't want to get him a toy phone either).

It's amazing how those 40 minutes we spent playing with blocks helped him make so many connections! We're loving it, he always plays with a smile on his face... until we take something away, that is. Obviously.