Monkey see... Monkey DON'T!

I have heard from friends and now witness first hand that little siblings often idolize and imitate their older brothers and sisters. Well, Lillie has taken this copying thing to a new level.

Here is my Top 10 I am calling: Ten Ways I Wish Lillie would NOT Copy Parker

10- Pretend she is Spiderman and climb Parker's bunk bed. (Besides the fact that this is dangerous, it is also very difficult to do while sucking your thumb, carrying a blankie and drinking from a sippy. )

9- Go Swimming without a shirt on. (The lifeguards at the community center must think that we practice skinny dipping b/c the second I go to put her in the pool, Lillie proceeds to take off her swimsuit. Frustrating and embarrassing for me)

8- Pretend she is Spiderman and try swinging from the refrigerator door. (Parker also gets into trouble for this, but it is Lillie who is going to dislocate her shoulder, gash open her head and or break a bone. She is not nearly as coordinated or talented as Parker in this arena and she really should stick to things like drawing, dancing, and playing in her kitchen)

7- Be the Daddy when playing with her dolls. (One of her favorite things to do is grab my travel coffee mug (like Trev's) and an old black purse (like Trev's briefcase) and walk around the house pushing her baby in the stroller saying Dad-eeeee!!!!! Parker tries to tell her that he is the Daddy and she is the Mommy but b/c Parker is the Daddy, she has to be one too. It's starting to give me an inferiority complex)

6- Pretend she is Spiderman (see a pattern here) and wear Parker's Spiderman mask and shoot make believe webbing at anything she sees (In itself this may seem innocent enough but the fact that the mask is too big and she hasn't figured out how to breathe thru the 2 little pinholes in the nose part and ends up blowing boogers into it every time is gross! I need to find a Wonderwoman costume and quick!)

5- Drive the Jeep Powerwheels all over the yard and leave me devising stories for the ER doctor when we arrive at the hospital (Once again, an area that Lillie is not as advanced as Parker. He is quite the proficient driver, Lillie, on the other hand, although her desire to steer and be a "big girl" is admirable is actually very dangerous and unpredictable in the drivers seat. She has been known to crash into the shed, try and inadvertently kill the cat, squash my tomato plants and pop-a-wheelie over the back step. Never a good sign when Parker is scared to death and is screaming for his life)

4- Act like a Tyrannosaurus Rex while playing in her crib and roar "Mommm-eeee" as loud as she can into the monitor. (Harmless enough? Yes, but at 6:45 in the morning it's not exactly the wake-up call I envision)

3- Drink "garbage juice" from her tea set. (Most little girls I know love tea parties and sip out of their cups delicately and gingerly. NOT our Lillie. Instead she pretends we are drinking garbage juice (hmmm.. guess where she learned that) and makes loud slurping noises and then dumps the whole tray of cups and saucers onto the floor and laughs hysterically.)

2- When she "toots" or burps she looks to whoever around and gives a hi-five! (For the record, she DID NOT learn this from me! This is ALL her brother and probably his little friends and I am sooo not happy about it! Some manners would be nice here. She is never going to find herself a decent husband (and to that, Trev would say "Good. That's the point! She is living with us until she is 30 anyway)

...AND THE #1 WAY I WISH LILLIE WOULD NOT IMITATE PARKER IS:

1- Stand up while peeing. (This is making potty training VERY difficult and messy! We were making incredibly swift strides in this area until one day Lillie stood up and tried to pee "like Pahpah" and of course missed. She is stubborn about this and is bound and determined to do it like him. Not good for her or me!

*Lillie-bear I love you but you are driving Mommy crazy!!!PLEASE stop trying to do everything Parker does. You are going to get yourself hurt, wet, laughed at and or in trouble. Someday I hope you and I can read this entry together and laugh about it. But right now, I am exasperated and trying to find the humor in it all~