Bait and Switch

Earlier this morning, I was discussing (with Auntie Karen, I think) that I really think Ems is smarter than we realize.  I couldn't prove it, but I thought she was using the old "bait and switch" maneuver with her siblings when it came to playing with toys.  It appeared that she would realize they were constantly stealing whatever toy she was enjoying at the moment.  But lately, I noticed that she would not fuss right away, move quickly to something else and they would almost always follow her to the next toy.  It was psychological warfare.  Once they were distracted by said "new" toy, she would go back to playing with the original item of interest.  And I think it is probably what she wanted anyway.
This evening I caught it on film.  (OK, an SD card, but don't you get technical on me!)  Anyway, she wanted to play with the shopping cart but Clark immediately stormed forward with the intention of stealing it away.  I was preparing to step in when I saw the "switch" occur.  She quickly moved to the Cozy Coupe (the car) and he fell right into her trap and followed her.  That little genius outsmarted her little brother and went happily back to her shopping cart and continued on her merry way.  It was amazing to see her in action and I was pretty proud of her.
Some of you might think that toddlers are incapable of such manipulation and head-games, but I seriously think that the mindset of triplets just might be different and lead them to take drastic measures.  They have learned cause-and-effect of certain things when it comes to interacting with their siblings and I think that their little sponge-brains are totally making adjustments to their behaviors.  It is too cool.  And maybe it really isn't possible for them to figure this out at such a young age.  Maybe it is just coincidence.  But I'm going to just assume that I have little geniuses on my hands and adjust MY behaviors as well!
Oh and Kendall was  busy trying to learn how to actually get the tricycle to move by her own power.  Unfortunately, I think the handlebars were turned completely around, but that didn't seem to impact the functioning of the bike.  She was also busy "calling" someone on the pretend cell phone to tell them all about the bees that were flying around the clover in our yard.  She was rambling on and on and I would catch a "bee" and a "flower" here and there in the conversation.  I can't say who she pretended to call, but it just cracks me up to watch her chatting away!
And to recap our Father's Day festivities:  Cracker Barrel by 9am with the kids, Daddy, Poo Pa and Uncle Stevie.  They were kind enough to get there around 8:40a to get our names on the list so that the kids didn't have to suffer through a long wait.  Then we came home for some playtime (including finger painting) in the garage and shortly thereafter we hit a store to pick up Poo Pa's gift.  Once we were done, we decided to hit the mall's play zone.  We were the ONLY people there since the stores weren't open for another hour and it was great for the first 20 minutes (until bigger kids showed up).  We had lunch in the food court and then strolled in the mall (kiddos were walking hand-in-hand..awwwww.....) and then we took our pooped-out kids home for a nap.  I kept the kids busy (after naps) in the backyard while Troy fixed a steak dinner for Poo Pa and Uncle Stevie.  It was HOT and the crew was ready to get indoors for dinner.  They watched a movie while we ate and then it was just the regular routine for the rest of the night.  We packed the day full of running around for the kids and they slept really well.  They did so great at the mall yesterday that we will definitely have to try it again on another Sunday afternoon.
I'm worn out and ready to call it a day.