Monkey See, Monkey Do

It's started. Monkey is a mimic.

I don't know why I didn't notice it sooner, but it became totally obvious yesterday when Aron was fervently licking his sticky man-fingers at lunch and Owen was just as noisily licking his little cute baby-fingers and staring at his Daddy with rapt attention.

Of course the little fella has been trying to imitate us for ages. He thinks he can just take a step like a big boy and walk down the stairs the way we do (although he falls on his face every time). He tries to hold a spoon and eat like we do (although the vast majority of his food ends up on his chin that way). He tries to brush his hair (except he prefers to use the big brush that goes with the dust pan) and hold a pen (yeah...no thank you, Mr. Baby!) and talk on the phone (even if the 'phone' is a remote control, or a mega block, or his own hand).

It's cute now, of course. He tries to do things and messes them up somehow, or does them in a really fumbling and adorable way. But the things he has been trying to do are mostly things that are ok, like knocking on the door or taking off his shoes. But one of these days he's going to pick up on the not-so-great things we do, and start doing them, too.

Now is the time, I have realized, for us to start really adopting some better habits. Saying 'please' and 'thank you' more consistently. Looking both ways before we walk in to the parking lot of the apartment complex. Eating all our veggies. Stuff like that, stuff we're going to want him to do. And we have to stop doing things we don't want him to do, like barging in the bathroom when someone is in there, or yelling through the apartment instead of walking to the other room to ask a question.

Being a parent is complicated if you want to raise a well-mannered kid!!