The lovelies

I have two nieces(and two nephews) and two nephews(from my brother) who live a few states away from me. This weekend I came into town and spent some time with the fam. I usually stay over at my sisters' so I hung out with my nieces( ages 6 and 2) more. I'm not sure if I just never studied both of them before or if this it's just that their relationship with each other is evolving but I was intrigued by their interaction. The 2 year old is constantly copying everything that the 6 year old does. I mean everything! It was bizarre. If the 6 year old sat/stood/danced/ate/read, the 2 year old sat/stood/danced/ate/read (well, she attempted to read). At some point, the 6 year old whispered something in my right ear so her sister wouldn't hear, and , you guessed it, the 2 year old came over to the same ear (odd since she was on my left side and closer to my left ear) and 'whispered' into it. I laughed till I cried especially because the 2 year old never actually said anything! She just (practically) blew air into my ear - probably because that's all she could make out when her sister whispered into my ear. It was amazing just watching them relate to each other. In mimicking her older sister, she's learning a ton. When even I am tempted to speak to her in 'baby speak', the 6 year old speaks to her in complete sentences and she understands everything. She also responds in kind as much as she can. I wonder if that's the norm in most families. Do the younger copy the older? Do they mimick their actions, words, mannerisms? Is this even a good thing? What if the person being mimicked has horrid behaviour? Is this how 'one bad egg spoils the bunch'. Are we as humans unable to build character without mimicking others or having examples to follow? This would explain why the bible says ' show me your friends and I'll show you who you are'. What about Jesus as an example? Maybe we also need folks around us with whom we can interact daily to help build our character. Upbringing vs. genetics. hmmm...

About the only thing the 2 year old wouldn't copy from the 6 year old was going to bed. For some reason, bedtime is always a chore with the 2 year old. As soon as she heard the words 'it's time to go to bed', she yelled 'No!' and started wailing. I tried to make her understand she needed to rest up for the next day but she wasn't buying it, her wailing intensified. Eventually, my sister heard the commotion and took her to bed ( with much wailing in tow).