And the Deception Begins

Because Lily doesn't fully understand the concept of time, she will unintentionally lie to us occasionally. Usually when it involves treats. When one of us comes home and she asks for fruit snacks or a yogurt or chips, we ask if she's already had some today because we don't know what the other one has given her already. Usually she says no. I don't think she says no in the hopes of scoring another round of whatever it is; she just doesn't fully understand the concept of TODAY. And sometimes she tells us yes when she hasn't actually had any.

But today, she showed me that she's starting to understand that the the full truth may not always work in her favor. While eating lunch, she asked for a glass of milk. No problem. One glass of milk complete with pink straw coming up. Then I pulled a slice of cheese out for my sandwich. "I want a slice of cheese." Because her milk hadn't been touched and I'm tired of throwing out untouched food after she asks for it, I told her to finish her milk first. She agreed and went back to the table to finish her lunch, including her milk. I headed upstairs for a few minutes.

Before I returned downstairs, I could hear the unwrapping of a cheese single.

"Did you finish your milk?"

A very timid "Yes" floated up the stairs.

"All of it???"

A pause, followed by another timid "Yes."

"If I come down and check, will your milk be gone?"

No response. I started down the stairs. I soon heard the pattering of Lily feet as she hurried toward the kitchen while quietly saying, "Don't let her see the milk. Don't let her see the milk."

When I got to the kitchen, I looked around. No milk. But no glass either. And there she was: standing in front of the fridge like a guard.

"Where's your milk?"

"It's gone."

"Open the fridge, please."

"I put it in there to save for later."

Ahhhh....the truth comes out.

She finally agreed to let me see how much milk was left. We settled on a compromise of two more big swallows and then she could eat her cheese. But I guarantee I'll still throw the rest of that glass away. But the best part really was, "Don't let her see the milk. Don't let her see the milk."