Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Stealthy Ninja Kid

Clara, almost 4, has free rein in our house and is responsible enough to play on her own in any part of the house, though she's most often found within three inches of me. There's only one time when she doesn't have complete freedom - when she's supposed to be asleep. It's during these times that this clumsy, overly loud little girl turns into the silent, creeping ninja kid. I may be wrong, but I'm starting to suspect that instead of sleeping, Clara is in her room having a tea party, in the guestroom pretending the read the books in there, on the third floor making castles with duplo blocks, or in the bathroom dancing in front of the mirror. Whatever she's doing, she's doing it silently.

This morning I woke to the slight sound of Clara's door closing, which isn't a big deal because she can use the bathroom on her own now. But over the next twenty minutes I heard Clara's door at least five times, but I never heard her. I have no idea what she was doing, and as long as I could keep sleeping and she didn't wake Kate, Clara could spin from the ceiling fan for all I cared.

Occasionally when Clara is supposed to be sleeping Megan or I will see an eye peek around the corner at us, but we never hear her coming. This afternoon, as both girls were supposed to be napping, I went into the kitchen to get a drink and was startled to see Clara standing there silently, like one of the children of the corn, but with an embarrassed smile.

Me: How long have you been there?
Clara: Ummm... 8
Me: 8?
Clara: Yeah, 8.
Me: OK.

Sneaky little rascal.

Just to give you an idea of how sneaky she can be, she's in the picture below (and no, she's not the smiley girl in the middle - that's Kate.) See if you can find her.


(click on the picture if you give up)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is so funny... you actually beat me to this post. I was about to write the exact same thing, but about Justin. He is allowed anywhere too, and can get up to go potty by himself. The other morning, I heard the door close to his bedroom... but that was it. Apparently he went downstairs to play with legos, then went the bathroom, then came back up & went to bed. I only figured it out by the trail of toys & clothes! Sometimes I wake up in the morning only to find him standing in front of me staring at me. The other day he was tapping on my head! And I am the lightest sleeper there is.

MarkSchulteJr said...

These kid Ninja's are eveywhere... watch out or they'll get you when you least expect it.

Hi-ya!

Anonymous said...

The sneaky thing that REALLY gets me, is when you wake up and they are just standing there next to your bed. Silent. Staring. Unmoving.

(shudder)

Unknown said...

Olivia does this too! I go upstairs and I think she has been napping for say the last hour or two and then I see evidence to the contrary.....band-aid wrappers all over the hallway floor, her hair bows in the bathroom, her skirt in MY room! What in the heck has been going on up here?!? Then I look in her room and she IS asleep....or is she? weird.