Kiwi is 14 months: Copycat kid

Despite the two years that separate them, Kiwi and Peeper sometimes look like twins—well, a long-haired twin and one with barely enough hair to put up in a whale spout. But this past month, Kiwi’s love of doing everything her big sister does means I have two kids who give me twice the trouble and twice the joy. Because Kiwi is a walking, talking, singing copycat kid.

Kiwi the copycat kid does just about everything else we do. She blows her nose when I have a cold. She combs her hair with a sock when Peeper’s getting her pigtails in. She washes Peeper in the bath just like I do.

In one part of the Cinderella CD we listen to every single darn time we get in the car, Peeper sings along to the chorus—“Ahhh ahhh ahhh ahhhh!” Kiwi does the same, though without much of a tune.

Peeper is learning how to turn a cartwheel in gymnastics. She was showing us the other day, and Kiwi tried to mimic her—and actually got pretty close! Kiwi’s cartwheels were more like headstands, but she did accidentally do a somersault, too. Peeper was thrilled: She clapped and exclaimed, “She’s doing it! She’s doing it!”

Kiwi is all eyes—and then she gets it. After watching Peeper or another one of us, she launches into her own version, whether it’s dancing or scrubbing down her high chair.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, well, Kiwi is really buttering us up. 

Wanting to be just like Big Sis (and Big Bro)

I can remember wanting to be just like my big siblings, too. My older sister and brother played dragons and wizards; they’d let me be in the same room as long as I kept silent. When my sister dyed her hair red for her statewide swimming competition, I wanted to do the same so badly— though my mom put her foot down on that one. (Good call, Mom.) Later, my brother got a paper route. I occasionally helped him and, as soon as I was able, I was delivering newspapers at 5am, too. (Alas, the gig wasn’t nearly as glamorous—or lucrative—as I’d imagined.)

Even now, decades later, I look up to my older sister and brother. I admire how independent and strong they both are—unwilling to conform and fiercely creative. I ask their opinions on what to read, listen to and watch. And I still want to spend as much time with them as possible, although these days they let me join in the games.

So I completely understand Kiwi’s desire to be just like Peeper.

Content with the copycat kid

Thankfully, Peeper is a good role model. She’s pretty well behaved overall. And so far, she doesn’t mind being big sister to a copycat kid.

I know it won’t always be that way.

Peeper will probably resent her little sister tagging along. She’ll probably get tired of having a mini-me mimicking her every move.

Until then, though, I adore seeing these two support each other, play with each other and, yes, copy each other.

After all, with this dynamic duo, we have twice as much fun.