Reflections

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of my own words and actions reflected in Natalie. It is sometimes quite eerie, how she copies my behaviors.

Mostly, it's little sayings I didn't even know I used until I hear them repeated. The other day, I was insisting that she wore socks and then shoes, not shoes and then socks, and she was mad at me. All why crying very loudly, she kept saying "No, Mommy, No. That is not acceptable!" I was trying not to smile too much, because 1) it sounded really cute, especially how she pronounced ap-cip-table, and 2) she was trying to show independence, and 3) at least she wasn't repeating any swear-words...

Other sayings she's quite fond of include "We will see", which I recently realized I use when I don't quite want to promise her something but there is a good chance it will happen (like when she's telling me on the way home in the car that she wants chocolate milk for dinner).

She also likes "That could be", which is one of my standard responses when she tells me something important, like where the airplane we just saw in the sky was flying to (sidebar: It usually flies to Grandma's).

Then, there are things I just hope she's copying me on, like when she says ""thank you" and "you're welcome", etc. And the other night, she told me that her "baby" (doll) was scared, and she put her blankies on her shoulder and held the baby tight, cuddling it on her shoulder and saying "shh, shh". I was so proud of her, and her compassion and ability to comfort. I hope just a tiny bit of that is a reflection of me, too.