Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Monkey See, Monkey Do...

This morning, Macie finished eating around 7:00a, so I decided I would get in a quick (and short, since I'm not in great shape yet!) run on the treadmill. So we headed to the bonus room, where Macie assumed her position on my rolled up (for a pillow) exercise mat with the hanging cow toy above her head to hopefully amuse her for 30 minutes...

Dale was in the room, too, as our bonus room now doubles as his office, since his original office became Macie's nursery (confused yet?). Since Ivie was still asleep, Dale brought her monitor into the room so he would hear her when she woke up.

About 7:15a, Ivie woke up and began calling for Daddy. So Dale headed to her room to get her ready for school, a task of which he has taken sole responsibility since Macie's arrival (and he does a great job picking out her outfits, since he's a "clothes guy" himself!).

Macie and I remained in the bonus room, as I still had 15 minutes left to my run. The monitor was still on, so Macie and I were able to hear the goings-on in Ivie's room. Now, Ivie is NOT a morning person. She hates getting out of bed and getting dressed, especially when it's not a weekend and she can't take 20 minutes to do so. Therefore, her ensuing discussion with Dale resulted in Ivie getting frustrated and starting to cry about not wanting to get up.

As all of this is going on, I'm watching Macie's reaction. Prior to the outburst, she was kicking around happily on the mat, batting (inadvertently, still) at the toy. When Ivie started to get frustrated, Macie's kicking stopped, and she laid very still, as if listening to see what was wrong with her sister. When Ivie's frustration turned to an all-out cry, Macie erupted in a cry of her own that lasted until I was able to talk her out of it from the treadmill.

Isn't it funny how kids react to the feelings of other kids? They weren't even in the same room, and Macie could tell that Ivie was upset. She already wants to be just like her big sister. Boy, are we in trouble...

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