Hide-n-seek

Where on earth are you hiding?

Today, while frantically cleaning my house to prepare for our church small group coming in the evening, my children were busy finding ways to amuse themselves that did not involve their toys. I had cleaned up all one million of their toys and threatened them every time they tried to touch them. They didn't care one bit. They were quite happy finding other ways to create mischief of every kind. Every few minutes a door would slam as they would make their way into one of the bedrooms and attempt to shut me out.
"Mommy, you get outa here. You gotta go." says Will.
Natalie grins,"Eeeeee!" Translation, "yeah, what he says mommy."

Since Natalie is not even quite a year old, I am not completely comfortable with leaving the two of them alone. In fact, I think its a REALLY BAD IDEA! I try NEVER to leave them alone because Will is not to be trusted around her. I mean, his favorite thing to do these days is push her down while she attempts to walk across the room.
"Oops, she bumped her head on the wall mommy!" Hmmm..I wonder why? Could it be because you found it necessary to push her head toward the wall just to see what would happen? What am I going to do with him?
Anyway, I do find it pretty cute that they both keep trying to find ways to be by themselves. In spite of herself, Natalie adores Will and follows him around. If Will isn't shutting the door, Natalie is, and typically they innocently play with books in Will's bedroom. I usually listen outside the door, wait a minute or two to give them a sense of independence, and then I peak in on them.

The door to Natalie's room slammed shut which meant the party had been moved and mommy was not invited. I waited a minute to check on them before I heard Will say, "Where Natalie go?"
I opened her door and peaked in to where they were playing. There was no Natalie in sight and no sound of her either. I called her name, "Natalie? Where are you?" Silence. Will was just standing there guiltily grinning ear to ear.
"Natalie hiding mommy!"
I looked frantically around the room because I did not trust that he hadn't pushed her under the crib or injured her or something, rendering her unable to make a noise. I glanced at the closet, worried that she had crawled in and something had fallen on her or something. She was just too quiet and I was seriously worried! Oh No! I am going to seriously regret ever letting them in this room alone together. It had only been a few seconds, but I had a sick pit in my stomach.
Right in the middle of her room I noticed Natalie's big green canvas Pottery Barn hamper was turned over. Now, I am not a detective or anything, but it was not extremely obvious to me what was going on. I should have figured it out more quickly, but Will loves to play with that hamper and frequently turns it over. I lifted up the hamper to find Natalie sitting there underneath it as quiet as a mouse with her legs crossed! It didn't seem to bother her a bit that she was sitting trapped in the dark like a wild animal by her 2 year old brother. In fact, I am pretty sure she was enjoying the game of "let's trick mommy!" Will was incredibly proud of himself! I did feel pretty stupid when I realized I had been outwitted by a 2 year old.

"You found Natalie mommy!" Apparently they have already learned how to play hide-and-seek and Natalie is the queen of being quiet while hiding. Goodness gracious. I am in trouble!