Kopycat Karis

I've been more tired than usual this past week.  The other day, it was a long day and I settled on the lounge chair downstairs and was hanging out with Makena.  Karis was upstairs practicing her letters.  She called me to ask me to come upstairs to help her spell "Fluffy."  I asked her to come downstairs so I could help her.  She didn't want to come down and I didn't want to go up.  I told her to just talk real loud and I would help her from where I was.  Here is how our conversation went:

"Mommy, how do you spell 'Fluffy'?"

"F"

"Okay, what next?"

"L"

"Okay, what next?"

....  We got to the letter "Y" ...

"Help me do 'Y'"

* sigh * I responded, "Look at your writing workbook and find Y."  

"Mommy, I can't.  Come upstairs and help me."

"No, Karis come down here and I'll help you."

She then responded, "I'm too tired."

Oh no she didn't, I thought to myself.  "No Karis, Mommy is tired. Come down here."

This repeated a couple times as we tried to convince each other we were too tired. 

One final time I asked Karis to come down.  

Karis responded "Mommy, I don't have time."

"You what?!"

"I don't have time."

"Karis, you're a 3-year old!  You have all the time in the world!  If you want me to help you, you need to come downstairs."

So, it has begun.  She's copying me by saying the two most frequent excuses I give her daily -- I'm too tired and I don't have time.  Yikes!  I didn't realize I say those things to her so often.  

A fun way she's been copying me is her interest in baking and making things.

I made a birthday cake for Makena the other day.  I try to do most of my serious baking during their naps as it's easier to do it without eager little hands that are so willing to help.  

When I was finishing Makena's birthday cake, Karis decided she wasn't going to nap.  She came downstairs and saw me using fondant and she was curious as to what it was and what it felt like. I gave her a chunk of it and told her she could play with it like playdoh.  I thought she would make some shapes out of it but instead she asked for some of the balls I had made and she made her own cake.   She also asked for some frosting to make the finishing touches.  

As she was finishing her "cake" I was taking pictures of mine.  She wanted me to take pictures of her cake too.  She then ran upstairs to get her own camera so she could take her own photos.  She was so proud of it.  It was so cute!

She was so excited to have her own cake to give to Makena.  She told me that when Makena woke up from her nap, she would show her the cake, say "Surprise!" and give her a big hug.