The sorting game

Frankie currently spends about 50% of her day moving objects from one side of the room to the other, and then back again. She will put granola bars back in the box if I take them out, likes to put her toys back in their bin (not always, don't go thinking I never pick up toys!), likes to line her bears up in one order, shakes her head, mutters to herself, and then rearranges them.

All this obsessive organizing has had me worried she's OCD. A friend tried to reassure me that it was normal, that she was "sorting" and that it was the first stages of math and logic development, but I haven't seen any logic to the sorting. Just a sort of obsessive need to move objects and then put them back where they 'belong' (it doesn't help that she usually talks quietly to herself while doing this activity).

My concerns aside (which are my problem, not hers!), I do take great joy in watching her busily play around the apartment, and it's been wonderfully fun to watch her personality emerge. She's always been a deliberate and particular child, and I think now we're seeing an organizational element to this deliberateness (and dare I say cleanliness? trust me, this is not because my house is terribly clean!). She's specific about the textures she'll eat -- icing, soy butter, black bean shells on her fingers cause her to scrunch up her face into the Do'h expression and hold her hands out to me to be wiped, although she will eat yogurt and oatmeal with her hands. She doesn't like the sand or the wood chips at the park. We usually keep the front door and the door to Maisy's closet closed, and if they're open, she'll often walk over to shut them. She picks up lint off the floor and hands it to me with the understanding that I'll throw it away.

I think it will be amazing and challenging to get to know each of our children, and to nurture them uniquely in the ways they will each specifically need to be loved, disciplined, challenged, and encouraged. Frankie may not have any trouble keeping her room clean, but may need our help understanding that life has many gray areas. I love my little girl just the way she is, and am happy that I can be home with her and get to know who she is, and get to help shape who she will become. I wonder who her little brother is going to be...