How old are you?

Here is one of Mallory’s new tricks…when you ask her how old she is, this is what she does:

Brilliant, I tell you. Just brilliant.

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I’ve written before about Mallory’s tendency to smack my face when she’s tired and grumpy. Unfortunately she usually does it when I’m asking for a kiss so my face is in close range. A friend of mine said that when her kids were little and did that, she tried to show them how to have gentle hands, so I thought I’d give it a try with Mallory. Yesterday after she tried to hit me, I took her hand and gently rubbed my cheek and said “be gentle”. The rest of the day she was reaching for my face to rub my cheek. For as quick as she learned that, it makes me quadrupaly* irritated that she seems to not understand other stuff (like “don’t throw your food on the floor”, etc).

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Mallory’s Papa & Nina got her a backpack kit thing for Christmas that has a tent, sleeping bag, flashlight and water bottle included in it (I’m looking forward to Rick taking her on overnight hikes next summer!). Anyway, it also had a little matching headband that she tried to do herself:

I am loving that she wears it all princess-tiara-style. LOL.

*Dad, if you are reading this, I know quadrupaly isn’t a word.