I probably wasn't supposed to find this funny

We had the Little Tikes car out and Abby was "driving". She had her Minnie Mouse bubbles in the back.

Jack crept up behind her, grabbed the Minnie Mouse bubble stick and booked it with a look of sheer terror on his face ... he knew what he had just done.

Took everything I had not to bust out laughing.

As Abby screamed, "NO! JACK! THAT'S MINE!" Jack ran to me for safety, handing me the bubble stick with a look of complete satisfaction.

He had successfully hunted his prey.

Coming out of the woodwork ...

... to be sentimental.

I know I typically go for the humor angle, but this was beyond adorable and touching and I have to share.

As I told Tom, if I cried in happy moments, I would have been bawling. But I don't, so I cried on the inside.

These days, we put Jack to bed around 7:30. Abby goes to bed around 8:30. Jack has been awake when we bring Abby into the room. He gets beyond excited when we enter the room and any drowsiness he may have had dissipates.

I tuck Abby in and then I have to calm Jack down. Inevitably, he cries when I leave the room. At that point, Abby starts screaming because she wants Jack to be quiet. Attempting to explain the situation to a two-year old hasn't even occurred to me ... until today.

I decided to recruit Abby.

I walked in after the second attempt to put Jack down and I told her that he is only crying because I leave and that he would stop quickly as long as she didn't start crying.

I then told her that she would be a great big sister if she would help Jack fall asleep by reading him a book or singing him a song.

I left the room again. Jack screamed.

I started walking down the stairs and heard Abby's up-and-down inflection of telling a story.

I tiptoed back up the stairs and listened at the door. I couldn't make out what Abby was saying, but she was clearly "reading". Then I hear Jack let out a delighted giggle.

Abby then whispers excitedly to herself, "It worked! It worked!"

I was beside myself. Seriously the cutest thing that also showcased Abby's big heart and love for her brother.

Can't fault her matter-of-fact response

I was reading Abby her "Superhero book".

The first page reads, "Who's a superhero? Me! That's who! Do you like to play superhero, too?"

Abby: "No, I don't like to play superhero."

I pause.

"You just like to read about them?"

Abby: "No. I don't like to read about them. I'm reading my book."

Then she went back to reading her "animal book", in which she looked at the page with the skunk and kept saying, "pee ewe, stinky!"

Parenting technique gone awry

On the way there (coat on).

Okay. So, I've been trying my best not to be a dictator and to allow Abby to suffer the consequences of her own choice when she's choosing to be defiant. Let's face it: the kid isn't going to listen once she has her mind made up.

Case in point: Today we went to the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum. We were getting ready to leave and I told Abby it was time to put on her coat.

"NO!"

It was about 40 degrees and windy outside.

"Are you sure? It's really cold."

"NO JACKET! NO!"

Okay fine.

I made up my mind that she would go outside without a coat and - once she determined she was cold and that it was a silly decision to defy me - she would ask me to put it on and a good lesson would be learned.

So Tom, Abby, Jack and I walked outside, the kids in the stroller.

I waited.

Nothing.

We walked a block toward the parking structure. Wind howling.

Nothing.

I looked at Tom with my eyebrows raised and finally mouthed, "Has she said anything?"

He shook his head.

We continued to the structure and not a peep from Abby. People walked by us with a look on their faces I would probably give other parents whose child wasn't wearing a coat in 40-degree weather.

We ended up making it all the way to the car and she never even mentioned being cold.

The little stinker.

Conclusion: Abby is either the smartest and most manipulative child in the history of the world ... or she is cold-blooded.

Evidence that - for now - I am still the superior-thinking party

Me and my girl.

Went to Crisler Center today to watch the Selection Sunday show. Took both kids. Boy, that was a fun adventure.

Will save the unnecessary details. When we left, Abby decided she was going to be difficult.

We walked down the 4,000 stairs from the main concourse to street level. I was carrying Jack and half of my possessions and Abby was trailing behind, enjoying a leisurely, scenic stroll.

I got to the bottom (with Jack - should I mention he was squirmy? He was squirmy - and half my possessions).

That's when Abby gave me a look like she was going to mess with me and doubled back to have a little fun on the stairs.

She knew exactly what she was doing. She was bored and was going to entertain herself at the expense of Mommy. "Let's see what I can make Mommy do in public."

She walked up the stairs. I yelled for her to come down. She walked down a few ... then turned around again. At one point, Tom walked down the stairs with half his team. Awesome. Nothing to see here, guys!

Finally, I had it. I wasn't going to look like an idiot whisper-yelling (you know what I'm talking about) for my child to pretty please come downstairs so we could leave. So I told her, "Bye! We're leaving!" and walked to the door. Parents of older-than-two-year-olds, please don't tell me when this tactic stops working. I would like to relish in today's small victory.

Ultimately she came running behind me. She had her track suit on, but no winter coat. It wasn't bitter cold, but it was pretty cold.

Well, since she wouldn't come voluntarily and I had Jack in my arms - should I mention he was fussy? He was fussy - and half my possessions, I really wasn't able to put it on without running the risk of her scurrying out of my arms and back up the stairs. So I figured I'd pull a 1950s lesson and let her take the (short - please don't call CPS) walk to the car without it on.

She was not happy, but we got to the car and she quickly warmed up.

We had driven about halfway home when I turned around to look at her at a red light.

I asked her, "Do you know why Mommy was upset?"

She cheerfully responded, "Because I was running up the stairs!"

This probably shouldn't have floored me, but it did. She so readily responded. She didn't have an answer like, "Toodles!" or something else that didn't make sense from a two-year-old. She knew exactly why I was upset, confirming that look she had given me before was, in fact, because she was purposely messing with me.

We had a quick lesson in what she would do next time and I gave her a high five.

I have to say that, in Abby vs. Mommy, Mommy definitely won this battle. Not only because she understood what she did wrong, but because I now know her plotting capabilities when it comes to future head-to-heads. She can no longer pull the I'm-just-a-toddler-and-have-no-idea card with me. She showed me her hand.

Though, I have to say, this kid is pretty smart (she does, after all, take after me), so I have no doubt she'll up the ante next time.

"I love Minnie!"

Over the past week, Abby's love for Minnie Mouse has grown by leaps and bounds.

Daddy brought her a Minnie Mouse stuffed animal from Walgreens and you'd think Abby has a new puppy.

Last night, the perspective of Minnie's importance came crashing down.

As I was getting Abby dressed after her bath, she was laying down, with Minnie. She exclaims, "I love Minnie!"

I reply, "You love Minnie?"

"Yeah! I love Daddy!" she says emphatically.

"I love ... JACK!"

I wait.

"I love MINNIE!"

Pooched by a fake mouse.

My daughter's spin on being a little girl

Abby and her Buzz PJs

I don't know what other two-and-a-half-year-old girls are doing to act out being a mommy, but mine definitely has a unique spin on the concept.

Tonight, after Jack was asleep and Abby had had her bath, we settled down in the living room to look at a book together.

When it was time to go upstairs to read books and go to sleep, I grabbed a bottle for Jack in case he woke up and needed to eat. Abby saw the bottle, and asked if she could have one for Buzz, who she was carrying in her arms.

I made a mission to find the play baby bottles, which I knew I had seen the other day.

As I was digging through the toys, I could hear Abby behind me shushing Buzz to comfort him as I looked for the bottle. "It's okay ..." she said, mimicking what Tom and I do with Jack.

I found the bottle and we headed upstairs.

As I was reading Abby books, she was preoccupied with making sure Buzz was settling in. She was feeding him the bottle (one of those disappearing-milk ones with the companion juice version).

It was at that point I looked at my daughter - decked out in her Buzz and Woody PJs (boys), cradling Buzz in her arms and feeding him a bottle - and thought how much I loved the spin she was putting on being a little girl.

I continued reading (at which point she said, "Shh ... Buzz is sleeping" to mimic what I have to do with her every five seconds of reading time to keep her from waking up Jack), but she was more interested in Buzz.

I finally closed the second book (Buzz chose it. Superhero Me. I told her it was an appropriate choice), told her I loved her and kissed her goodnight. I then kissed Buzz on the helmet and told him goodnight. She was pleased that Buzz was acknowledged the same way she was.

Then I tip-toed out of the room, leaving my little mother to tend to her bundled space ranger.