The Joy of Siblings

Naomi's life is full. She has eight people at her beck and call and enjoys every one of us. She is also learning some of the advantages of having six siblings. She tattles on a regular basis. She started tattling before she could even talk with grunts and hand signals and I guess I gave Her Royal Cuteness too much sympathy because now she tattles when she wants attention, first thing in the morning, when she's bored and last thing before bed.

This morning, during the early breakfast Rachel got for her, she put on her sad face, used her pitiful voice, and said, "My-my" (short for Michael). I pointed out to her that there was no point in tattling on Michael because he hadn't done anything to her - he was still in bed. Stan said, "Yeah, Michael has an alibi."

She has discovered another perk (at least a perceived one, because it has yet to work) in having lots of kids around. She has gotten old enough that I have been trying to get her to finish her food at mealtimes. We will have a conversation sort of like this -

Naomi - cookie?

Me - After you finish your (fill in the blank).

Last night at dinner, I told her she needed to eat the rest of her noodles before she got any more fruit salad. She replied authoritatively, "My-my eat it." The other morning, I was trying this tactic with toast and after a minute, I heard her from the other room, saying in her most persuasive voice, "Le-e-elly, to-o-o-oast. Toast, Lelly?