Well, this is an interesting phase

[tiger_spot]

Morgan has been experimenting lately with concepts of privacy, control of space, and locks. She's locked herself in various bathrooms and bedrooms (fine if it's her bedroom, not allowed if it's ours; fortunately, our interior locks are very easy to overrule so there is no arguing necessary to fetch her out of unauthorized locked locations), announced that she needs "alone time" in a variety of situations, and tried locking various adults out of the house (come down on like a ton of bricks).

She has apparently just realized that different people are aware of different events based on where they are looking, and has been manipulating that hard to get at things she isn't normally allowed. Monday, she got into (1) some cookies, above her reach on the counter, (2) the medicine cabinet, by climbing into the sink, and (3) the dog-walking bags, kept on a high shelf in the pantry. Later, I saw her dragging the wooden stool across the kitchen to the pantry again, intent on another high-shelf raid, and raised my eyebrows at her. "You keep doing what you're doing!" she said cheerfully. "Don't look over here!"

This morning I recounted that event to suzanne while Morgan was getting her shoes on. Morgan wanted to know why I had not, as instructed, kept doing what I was doing and not looked over there. "Because," I told her, "I have been on this Earth for 33 years and I know what Up To Something looks like."

"Not if I close the door!" she chirped.

Comments

[wild-irises.livejournal.com]

"Three is just like two, but with deception."

Fortunately, they tend to be charming at deception, but not good at it.

I miss you!

[tiger-spot.livejournal.com]

She's also gotten much better at counting, may actually be reading a few words here and there (it's hard to tell), and is much more amenable to reason even when she is upset about something, so it's not *just* like two. Oh, also the full power of stubbornness has kicked in, my god, this must be what it's like to disagree with me about something.

It's been a while! I keep getting sick, is part of the problem -- makes it hard to make plans. I feel like I have been playing catch-up since like the middle of October.

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

Yes, heaven help us if they had the maturity to come up with internally consistent lies!

[rightkindofme.livejournal.com]

I am laughing so hard the kids ran from across the house to ask what is funny.

I love kids.

[tiger-spot.livejournal.com]

And did they get it?

Morgan tries really hard to be funny (I must get some video of the knock-knock jokes), and she understands that we find many of her observations amusing, but the whys are still fairly opaque....

[rightkindofme.livejournal.com]

EC got why it was funny. YC still isn't there. EC said, "Ahhh... she doesn't know she can't announce it yet" (then, breezily) "she'll learn."

It was also funny.

[tiger-spot.livejournal.com]

That's great!

(And then Morgan wanted to know what was funny after I read that comment. We have to go deeper!)

[vcmw]

Thank you so much for sharing this story. I chortled and snerked while reading it, and I love Morgan's response at the end there *so* *much*.

[tiger-spot.livejournal.com]

At least half of telling a good kid story is cutting it on the best line. :)

[spectatrix.livejournal.com]

At 17 months old, Xander has already begun picking up and moving his bathroom step stool around. I fear for the future.

Admittedly, my first reaction at seeing this was to point and proclaim "it's learned tool usage!"