Mommy’s Little Helper

Yesterday . . .
Mara was walking all around the house with socks (no shoes), and of course, her socks became dirty. After awhile, she sat down and tried to pull them off, so I went over to help her.
“Look at your socks!” I exclaimed. “They’re REALLY dirty!”
She looked up at me very seriously, then took the socks back out of my hand and walked over to put them in the trash. . . I guess, most of the time when I say something is “dirty,” I throw it in the trash. So she was trying to help.
Today . . .
Mara has been having some tummy trouble, so tonight I was giving her watered-down ginger ale, and in my laziness, I just grabbed the sippy cup, without the little “sip-ease valve” that keeps the liquid from leaking out. As I should have expected, when Mara reached for it, she turned it upside down, spilling ginger ale on her tummy, my pants and the floor. I was a little frustrated thinking about everything getting sticky, and I said, “Mara! you have to hold on to it!”
I grabbed a paper towel and dabbed at her stomach. Then she took the paper towel, bent down and started wiping the floor!!! I couldn’t believe it! That’s nothing I’ve ever encouraged her to do or even intentionally shown her how to do! But she must watch me–all the time. Which is kind of frightening.
Speaking of watching me (all the time), I’ve noticed that she’s started imitating me “talking on the cell phone” ALL the time!!! She will grab any small object or toy, clutch it next to her cheek and jabber VERY loudly!! “YAH!. . . . Mah-DAA!!!” It seems like whenever she is between thoughts, she is “talking” on the phone. I was telling Daniel about this, and he said, “I know why that is. . . come look at the Verizon bill!”
He showed me my minutes and said, “That’s most of the minutes there are in a month. . .”
So Mara is watching me all the time and learning. . . it’s sobering . . .