MUST BE HIDING

I have mentioned before the fondness my child has for "hide and go seek" but today I thought I would expand on that a bit. See, it is not just the game that Lily enjoys, but the concept of "hiding" itself. In her world, if you cannot physically see something at that particular moment, then it "must be hiding"...

Me: "Lily, where is your coat?"

Lily: "Hiding?"

Me: "Lily, where did daddy go?"

Lily: "Must be hiding!" (bet you saw that one coming)

Now, it is not the element of surprise one encounters from finding what was once hidden that Lily enjoys. Actually, when playing Hide and Go Seek with her, she will TELL you where you should hide first. "Momma hide playroom." Then she'll go and count and come "find" me...and I had BETTER be hiding in the playroom. If I am, there is a big "Boo!" or " I see you momma!" followed by excited laughter and jumping up and down. However, if I decided to get tricky and hide say, in the bedroom instead...the result is one of a confused and somewhat disappointed toddler. So, I opt to hide where she tells me to hide.

The other day while I was folding some laundry she took that 10 minutes to hide in the laundry basket until she was discovered, then she would pick up the basket, move it over a couple of feet and hide under it again...

"I see you momma!" "Here I am!" "She'll never find me up here"

Then, last night was the clincher... I was checking my e-mail at the kitchen table and she pulled up the chair next to me and started shoving her silver chain underneath my laptop. I didn't pay much attention, until she then put her hands over her eyes and began counting to ten. (What is she doing?) She uncovers her eyes, retrieves her chain and says with great pride and enthusiasm, "I found you bwacelet!"

The fun never stops around here, ya'll!