Echo

Sometimes when I listen to the things Emerson says, it really  is just like I hear myself echoing in my head.  She has recently been enjoying taking a turn to read one book at night out loud to us.  She reads her books so often she can mostly tell the story pretty correctly, and when not, she has a great imagination to fill in the blanks which is always entertaining.  Last night, Terry was at a meeting for church and she and I were snuggled up in the chair reading.  Here is what she said when she got to the page with the above picture:

"I am so proud of how you can jump so high," said his mother, "but we are not going to do that."
"Why?" said bunny.
"Well," said his mother, "it might not be very safe all of the time."

Just like me - praise the effort, correct the action.  I could give a billion examples of how I do this constantly through my day with clients at work...and apparently at home as well.  I love that she 'gets' that I do that.  Sorry little bunny - good jumping though.  When she finished reading her book, I told her:

"Thank you for reading us such a great story!"
Her response: "Oh, that's no problem!"

I love hearing the phrases she picks up from us.  Here's to remembering she picks it up and our words become embedded in our kids' hearts and minds.  I pray I will always remember this even in the little things like how I read books and how I redirect her so our words will always ultimately build her up.