My protege'

I have a mini-me. Her name is Lily. She's my third-born and the only one of the three that resembles me. I've noticed of late that she copies everything I do. I know this is somewhat typical of this age, but Lily handles the whole copying thing a little different than the other two did at this age.

When I raise my voice at either of the older two, there is a moments pause and then a strikingly sharp, loud, and stern ramble that follows. The only part of Lily's secondary admonishment that is ever understandable is the last word - either "Jrod!" or "Ella!"

I have secretly thought this to be cute. Until today. Today, we had a moment that took being a protege' to a whole new level. Today, Lily drew all over the hallway wall. In a sharp, loud, and stern voice I explained to Lily that you only draw on paper....not on walls. There was a moments pause, and then I experienced the most unbelievable thing. Not a cry, not a whine, not even a look of confusion. No, Lily pointed her little finger back at me and acted out my rampage....in it's entirety, and in her own language. I did, however, understand her concluding word: "Mama!"

So, I am currently working on re-directing my little protege's understanding of the way life works. As you can tell, this may take a long, long time.