Mini Me

During hurricane Sandy, as previously mentioned we had the pleasure of having our friends the Arbuckle family stay with us. The most memorable moment from this was the moment I realized how much my Eve is like me. She repeats everything I say, follows me around, "helps" with everything I do, etc. The husbands had left on an errand, leaving Lindsey and I with the toddlers and babies.
We were casually chatting, but listening to our children play as well. (Mothers are the best at multi-tasking) And what we heard was hilarious! Our kids were acting exactly like us. Eve and Eliza were arguing with each other, but they kept repeating things we say to them when they are in trouble. An example:

Eve: "No Liza! That's my crayon!"
Eliza: "No shouting! You go step!" (her mom's place for a time-out)
Eve: "Shhh! No screaming! You wake the baby!"
Eliza: "hey!"
Eve: "You no talk to me like that, you get time out"
Eliza: "5, 4, 3, 2, 1" (the countdown to go to timeout)
Eve: "No sassin' me, that's not nice"
Eliza: "Look at my eyes!"

Lindsey and I could hardly catch our breath we were laughing so hard, but we were trying to keep it quiet so we could continue to hear their encounter. Typical toddlers/girls, they were best friends hugging the next second, then back to bickering, then best buddies.
It really opened my eyes up to how I discipline her. It is the best advice, to treat others as you would have them treat you. But with your kids, it's treat them as you want them to treat others. It was a blast to listen in on their candid conversations.
Eve disciplines her toys and babies the way she is disciplined. But better yet, she loves them like she is loved. She cuddles them, plays with them, but also puts them in time out. I have a lot of work to do as a mother, I will continue to forever be a work in progress.