Eavesdropping

You'll have to know a little bit of back story to understand it all.

Ever since Tahlia was a little baby who used a blanket, she has been specific about making sure that all of her body parts are under the blanket. Then, and we are really lucky with this part, Tahlia would not, and still will not, move from under her blanket until Mommy or I come to take the blanket off. When she was very young, we would find her in the exact same position that she had fallen asleep in when we went to take her out of bed. As she grew, her ideas evolved. Since she knew that we knew that she wanted to be completely covered, she started taking her hand out of her blanket, and then, we would hear, "Mommy, hand out. Hand out Mommy." Or, "Daddy, hand out, Hand out." Initially, we would appease her. Going quietly, reinserting her hand under the blanket, and leaving. After a while, when I would go in for a, "Daddy, hand out, hand out," instead of putting her hand in for her, I would say, "Tahlia, put your hand in," and she would. Recently, though, because of her bed time becoming later and later as she had additional maladies such as a foot out, or dog-dog out, or a baby out, or elbow, we started only going in one time -- but that is a different story.

Today, right before I left the room for nap time, Tahlia, with a smile, slowly slid her hand out, and said quietly, "Daddy, hand out." I, with a wink and a smile, said, "Tahlia, what's that hand doing out? Get it back inside." She giggled, and the hand slid back into its home. Then, I, being a little silly, took her baby's leg and said, "Tahlia, what's that foot doing out? Get it back inside." She laughed. We did the baby's hand, the cat's paw, tail, whiskers, and tail. Through them all, she laughed. After a little while, I left, and she fell asleep.

After a hearty hour and a half nap, I heard this over the monitor:

"Daddy, tail out. Tail out, Daddy."
Pause
"Daddy, hand out. Hand out, Daddy."
Pause
With a hint of a giggle, "Daddy, hand out. Hand out."
Pause
"Daddy, hand out." Then she continued, "Daddy come in. Daddy say 'Tahlia, what that hand doing out.' Tahlia say, 'I don't know.' Daddy say, 'Tahlia, put that hand inside.'"

Smiling, Mommy and Daddy went to take her blanket off.