Monkey see, Monkey do

Bella is getting so big and watches everything I do.  Of course she has her own interpretation of what it is, that she sees.  The outcome always surprises me!  For instance, in a frantic rush (I've never been accused of good housekeeping skills but they aren't deplorable)  I was looking for that one particular item I just had to have before we left the house and I had to find it so I would grab and toss through the pile of stuff.  I didn't know she was watching me.  Now, no matter how many times I try to show her how to pick up her stuff and fold clothes and put them away... she prefers the grab and toss method.  Monkey see, Monkey do.  Lesson learned.  You can read about her other interpretation from my previous post, here.

We had a rough weekend so I have tried this week to carpe diem and have found myself to be quite productive.  I wouldn't call Fox News yet, but if I keep this momentum, you just might want to phone Glenn Beck, the Second Coming could be coming, I'm just not that efficient and I am getting closer and closer to be transfigured, at this rate.  ( Ok ok ok... so I'm doing laundry and folding AND putting it away after... its a big deal for me. I'm overcoming my ways of procrastination.  So maybe I won't be transfigured because of it, but I'm pretty sure Heavenly Father is helping me out so this is also a spiritual experience for me.  I. HATE. DESPISE. LOATHE. CLEANING.  I like things organized, but I can't conquer messes, I can only maintain.)  Sorry about the side tangent.  Moral victory, none the less.

ANYWAYS, yesterday I was feeling pretty good about myself.  Woke up on time, made breakfast for myself and Bella and I actually got to eat.  Even when to the gym after spot cleaning the whole house :)  My sister, Amy calls because little LuLu (Lucy) is sick and she needed to take her to the doctor and wanted to know if I could watch Logan.  Lucy and Logan are twins and they are exactly three weeks older than Bella (technically Bella is older because L&L were almost 2 months premature but as far as days of birth, L&L are older)  Like I said, I was feeling pretty good about myself, so I said "Sure, bring'em on over!"  I could handle it.  So after then initial awe of a new place, Logan started searching for his Mommy.  She was no where to be found.  Just a similar looking person with dark hair and a little baby girl, fussing at him for attention.  A balloon would distract him, I thought, and it did.  For like 25 seconds, then the water works came, and no amount of Mickey Mouse Club House or Baby Einstein would tame the beast.  So of course, Bella sees Logan cry and crawl to me (She is perfectly fine by the way, fed, dry, uninjured, and loved) and she must of course start crying and crawl to me to lest the "Logan Monster" steal her Mommy.  (Yet another example of Monkey see, Monkey do.)  So after being tackled by two little monkeys, the "Mommy Survival Mode" kicks in.  What little one doesn't enjoy a ride in the glider with a nice bottom binking?  (that's what we call it... some may refer to it as patting of the tooshy... binking is just more fun to say!)  So I round up two little ones in my arms, quite wiggly little ones as they are still both crying, one out of real anxiety, the other because she can. (Did I mention, I've been working out... because I have so its a good thing to have that extra muscle) And we take a nice little sit in the glider and we rock and I start to bink Logan's bottom.  Bella, as stated earlier, is fine.  Maybe a bit of a bruised ego, but I'm sure nothing fatal.  So I'm loving on Logan binding his bottom and the cries start to ease ( Yesss... works every time)  Then Bella gets this quizzical look as she watches me bink Logan's bottom, and then she starts patting his bottom too!  She then smiles really big as we rock and she helps Mommy.  I just laughed.  She was actually pretty gentle too which is surprising because she has hit hard and hit harder... those are the frequencies in which she operates.  It was precious, to see her internal mothering instincts kick in...  Monkey see, Monkey do ;)

Bella's idea of sharing...

...taking what you want and then saying "Thank you"
(it's kind of hard to argue with that reasoning... at least she says thank you)

Bella and Logan playing together

I let them down on the floor to play and Logan seemed to be happy scooting on his tummy and Bella was just binking his bottom.  Making sure he was okay.  I wished I had gotten it on camera but overtime I attempted she stopped, so I just enjoyed the moment.  This is one time, I can say, Monkey see, Monkey do a good thing.

I forget what little sponges they are and how they soak up everything.  If she doesn't want me to do something or she doesn't want to do something she goes "Ah,Ah,Ah" (and sometimes, consequently pulls her hair too, Again... you can refer to the earlier post for an explanation of said behavior).

On a more serious note, it makes me re-evaluate what I'm doing and how I live my life.  Its easy to go to church on Sunday and feel renewed and invigorated and life changing, but how long does it take before the spiritual high fades and we slide or more so melt, into our favorite sins of omission.  I have a really bad habit of checking FB almost first thing in the morning.  What kind of message is that sending Bella? When you wake up, grab your iPhone?  Does she see me reading my scriptures, given I do sometimes read on my iPhone but I think it would be better if she saw me read my ACTUAL scriptures.  Showing the gospel is the most important thing to me, not how many comments I got on her recent Easter picture. I didn't think it was such a big deal at the time, but after writing this post. I realize Monkey see, Monkey do, doesn't have to be a bad thing.   She can pick up on my good habits too, if I make them a priority. Instead of grabbing my iPhone when I wake up, what if I kneeled in prayer and gave thanks first thing?  I will say, she knows what prayer is.  We pray a lot and even though she might not understand fully the concept of reverence.  She will fold her arms and TRY to be reverent.  After amen, sometimes we clap and say YaY.  I think its okay to say YaY for prayer right now, because prayer is pretty awesome.  Our little ones are so impressionable... they thrive on learning.  Even the best of people have bad habits, and we have to take a step back and ask ourselves, what is my little monkey seeing me do?  Because you can say things until you are blue in the face, but these little ones, this next generation, are mighty little people indeed.  They can see through false pretense and cut straight to your core because they know actions scream louder than words.  I'm in awe, and almost fear, of what she is capable of or what she might be one day.  Her ability and her ambition is inspiring and her worth is great.  Its my prayer that one day, she can look back on her life after all her great accomplishments, and say, "I learned this from my parents"  and we can know, as her parents, that we learned it from the most perfect parents, Our Heavenly Father.