For the trip, I purchased Emily a few new books to enjoy in the car. My favorite was a Handy Manny book that had movable parts. For anyone who doesn’t know, Handy Manny is a Disney cartoon for preschoolers about a man and his tools who fix about anything that is broken in his town. So, in the book the saw moved in a sawing motion, the hammer could hammer a nail, etc. The only problem was that Emily’s interaction with the moving tools, which she thought were awesome, was in a motion that worked the cardboard pieces off of the rivits. I was disappointed, but she started calling her tools her friends and continuted to play with them away from the book.

Fast forward to our general play at home after returning from our trip. She has taken to finding thinks that are “broken” and carting her tools to the broken item and fixing it. Her favorite to fix is Julia’s high chair. She will stand behind the high chair sawing, hammering, and screwing. She is turning into a Handy Emily! I would be happy if Emily learned to fix everything in the house. We will have to wait and see.