Caught in the Act

This afternoon after I put Padyn down for her nap, I could hear her on the monitor doing something in her room. She wasn't talking, singing, or calling out, so I decided to let her be, figuring she was reading and would soon fall asleep.

When I still heard noises after about 30 minutes, I decided to go back in and remind her that she was supposed to be sleeping. The noises were very quiet, so I figured she was still sitting on her bed turning pages or something. I opened the door, looked at her bed and found it to be empty. She was standing in the middle of the room looking at me with the "I-know-I've-been-caught-disobeying" look. What was she doing? Having a picnic. A very very quiet picnic.

She had laid out a blanket on the floor and set out all her plates, cups, and food in true picnic style. She even had her bunny and Baby Doll sitting on the edge of the blanket in front of plates. It was so hard not to laugh. Where did this child come from?

She immediately started crying because she knew she was in trouble. (Every time we leave her for sleeping we remind her that there is no playing. She SO knows the rules.) I told her what she had done wrong, gave her a consequence, and put her back in bed with a stern warning about what was going to happen if she got out of bed again before napping. But I had to leave the room real quick before she could see me giggle.

I'm not sure what impressed me most...her hosting and table setting skills or the knowledge she already has about being sneaky and defiant. Honestly, both make me just a bit proud.