Mini Me, Part 1

Harper has been a pretty observant child since her very first moments in the world. When she was just an infant, people remarked all the time that she was extraordinarily alert. Which means she's been taking in my every move for about 16 1/2 months now. Not much gets past her anymore. Every day she is reminding me that I have to be on my best behavior at all times.

Harper mimics lots of actions, which makes it really fun to sing songs with her now. She likes hearing "Five Little Monkeys," and takes great pleasure in smacking her head ("one fell off and bumped his head") and shaking a finger ("no more monkeys jumping on the bed") when we sing it. She has just started to string together "e-i-e-i-e-i" when we sing "Old MacDonald," though she needs a little prompt to add the "o." She tries to do the actions for "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Wheels on the Bus."

She also likes to mimic every day things we do. One of her current favorites is pretending to blow her nose. The other day she swiped a box of wet wipes from the bathroom. I caught her in the living room, taking them out one at a time, holding them to her nose, and making a blowing sound with her mouth. For a couple of months now she's been a fan of "wiping" tables, the floor, and her high chair tray, cleaning pretend spills.

For a while Harper was obsessed with buttons, like on the remote, cell phone, keyboard, etc. But now she likes to hold the phone up to her ear and have long, imaginary conversations. Apparently she has noticed that I don't often sit/stand still while I talk on the phone (because I'm usually chasing her). The night these photos were taken she just kept walking back and forth in the kitchen, she barely stood still long enough to have her photo taken.






Even though they are imaginary conversations Harper babbles into the phone and then pauses for a response. The best is when she pretends to laugh when she's talking to no one. Apparently I laugh a lot when I talk on the phone. Mostly due to Auntie M.

I have to watch myself, in hopes that Harper only picks up my good habits!