Lesson Well-Learned

Sometimes I have to wonder whether or not Rachel listens to me. Just like any child, she can be pretty selective on what she hears and obeys. There is definitely one lesson that she has learned well. Probably about 6 months ago she colored on the wall with crayon. She got in quite a bit a trouble and was told that we only color on paper. For months after the fact she would point out the one mark I didn't get cleaned off the wall, and say something like "no, no, no, only color on paper - Rachel naughty". Not only does she know she was naughty to color on the wall, she is also very willing to point out others that do not color on paper.

• A few months ago as we walked through the underpass to go to the shopping center we discovered some graffiti on the bricks. Rachel quickly said, "No, no, no, naughty people. Don't color on wall, color on paper."
• Two weeks ago we were going on one of our daily walks. Rachel was busy pushing her baby stroller and lagging behind. Pretty soon I heard her stop and say, "No, no, no naughty people." I turned around quickly to see what she was up to and discovered that we were walking over some sidewalk chalk drawings. As we continued to walk Rachel stated, "No coloring on floor, only on paper." I guess Rachel hasn't been introduced to sidewalk chalk yet. :)
• On Monday this week we were sitting in McDonald's eating a quick lunch in between running errands. All of a sudden, Rachel very loudly says, "No, no, no, naughty man". I shush Rachel and then a few seconds later turn around to see what she is so concerned about. About 5 feet away there's a man with extensive tattoos all up and down his arms. Luckily his back was turned and he didn't seem to notice the little 2-year old calling him a "naughty man". I turned back to Rachel and she said to me, "Don't color on arms, color on paper".

I guess I can say that Rachel has learned well that we only color on paper. We haven't had another incident of her coloring on the wall. And it seems like she knows we don't color on our arms or the floor either. :)