Several months ago, we bought Tessa her first puzzle - which also happened to be a map of the U.S. She has been enjoying learning about the states ("that's where Grandma lives," "that's where Daddy was born," "that's where Mimi and Pop Pop live," "I used to live in Virginia but now I live in Maryland"), which I figured would be the focus of the puzzle for several months.
However, last weekend, Tessa pulled a huge surprise on me. She sat down with the empty puzzle and all the pieces on the side and proceeded to complete the entire puzzle by herself! It took almost fifteen minutes and she only asked for help at the very end because she didn't have the finger strength to pop the last few pieces in. Needless to say, I was quite impressed.
So, note to Tessa's admirers: if you want to get her a good present, get her a puzzle!
