Smarties!

Yesterday I heard a little voice from the kitchen say, "Daddy!"

The lights were off in the kitchen, and we had guests in the living room, so I was puzzled as to what she wanted.

"Can you help me get down?" came the little voice.

Elisabeth can easily climb up and down from her booster chair, so I was still puzzled at her request . . . until I entered the kitchen.

I found our 3 year-old standing on the edge of the sink with Smarties in hand. As soon as I walked into view, she grinned and said, "Can I have these?"

Her determination impressed me. She had realized that if she moved her booster chair next to the sink, she would be able to climb up on the sink and open the upper cabinets, which contain the things to which little hands shouldn't have ready access.

Now I know that those things are not so far out of reach as I thought - and that our small one has reached a new level of creativity in pursuing that which she wants.

Rules and their consistent enforcement become all the more important . . .