If I Had a Hammer

Mommy got me a new toy yesterday. It's a kind of ball maze, but with a twist---to get the balls to go down the maze I need to use a hammer to pound them through the holes. It's kind of like this toy. I've encountered these while visiting friends houses at several times in my life. When I was a little more than 1 year old, one of these toys was at the joint 1-year-old birthday party for one of the playgroups I am in. At that time, I had no idea how to use this toy. To me, the best thing about it was simply rollling the balls along the hardwood fllor and chasing them. A couple of months later, I encountered one of them on a playdate with Athena, who lives down the street with me. Her maze was such that, by pushing hard enough, I could get the balls to go down with my hands. I enjoyed doing this. Most recently, I was out on another playdate and was fascinated with the toy---including using the hammer to make the balls go down. As a result, Mommy got the toy for me to play with at home.

At first, I still couldn't get the link between the hammer and the balls going down the maze, but I learn fast. By yesterday evening I was a pro at it although I mostly prefer to use the side of the hammer rather than the tip of it for ball-pounding purposes. Eventually, I even started to use the "business end" of the hammer to pound the balls down. One of the best things about this toy is that, when the balls come down from the maze, they bump into my feet, which is extremely funny. I really like this toy.