Goose looks like me. She is a virtual twin of me at the same age (though she has my sister’s nose). I am told that she has my disposition, which makes sense given that she is so smiley and happy all of the time. I love that she is my mini-me, and can’t wait to see her grow and mature, and see if we remain similar, though I have no expectation that she will be like me at all. Still, in some ways it will be like watching myself grow up.

I have this problem though. I am stubborn. Not just the a little stuck in my ways stubborn, but the dig your heels in – I will never back down kind of stubborn. I come from a long line of stubborn people, on both sides of my family. My mom and my father’s father are probably the most stubborn of the bunch, which explains why they do not get along. This week it has become abundantly clear that I have passed this little trait on to Goose.

At this time of year, I expect to have small battles with the lils about their winter clothing, but the lure of outside usually wins and they get dressed and we go to play. Occasionally hats and mittens come off in the course of that play, but the cold air and wet snow convince them to put them back on and we continue to play. Goose has been going through a phase of late where she refuses to wear her mittens outside for very long and it gets worse with every trip. I previously thought that she would give up and put them back on when her hands got cold, but it has become clear that I was far to optimistic. She continues to play until her hands are little icebergs and the tears start.

Today I took a stand, and told her that she was not going outside without the mittens on her hands. She kept insisting that she would not, but I kept dressing her, knowing that she would relent when she saw that I was serious and she wasn’t getting out without them. Once the boots were on she marched to the door and asked that I open it. “Not without your mittens”, I said, and held one up. She shook her head and stamped her feet and insisted that there would be not mittens. I tried a few more times, but her answer never changed. Even when I walked away, she stood quietly by the door, fully dressed including her hat and scarf, and she waited. A couple of times we played the game where I asked if she wanted out and she said yes, only to refuse her mittens. Finally I told her that she had to either put the mittens on or stay in. “NO MITTENS” was her response.

So I undressed her and told her she could go outside tomorrow, if she wore her mittens. “Yes, Mama”, she said, and went running off to play. A few minutes later I noticed that she was playing with her new baking set, and wearing her oven mitts.

Goose, AKA mini-me