Nature Versus Nurture
Monday, April 1, 2013
burghbaby

There's a story behind this photo:

Normally the chalk portraits are Alexis' idea. She comes up with the ideas, she sketches them, and I make them come to life in our driveway with a little help from her. This one, however, was all me.

Go ahead. Tell me I'm twisted. I already know.

When I pitched the idea to Alexis, she was vehemently opposed to it. "But, momma! That's not nice!" she said.

Twisted obviously is not genetic. No worries, I can teach that. Just give me time.

"Momma, the Easter Bunny will find out and he'll be mad. I can't make him mad," she continued.

We chatted for a bit and a bribe or two later, Alexis was perfectly posed in the driveway. Is it wrong to know exactly which buttons to push when you want your kid to do something? Wait. Don't answer that. Unless the answer is IT'S SO WRONG IT'S RIGHT. Regardless, Alexis decided to play along.

(Lest you think it's unfair of me to bribe her into something, please know that I attempted to bribe her to touch a person in an Easter Bunny costume on Saturday. My offer was $5. All she had to do was run up, poke the bunny, and run away. She got within 20 feet of the bunny and bailed. So, I can try to bribe her, but she really does have a mind of her own. I totally respect that.)

(Wait. I just dug myself a deeper hole, didn't I? WHOOPS.)

(Bribes are fun!)

(Why the heck is the kid so scared of the Easter Bunny? IT'S SO WEIRD.)

So Alexis posed perfectly for that photo and waited patiently as I snapped a few photos. As I climbed down from the ladder, she stood up. A determined look crossed her face as she began to walk over to the bunny's face. She stared intently at his wonky eyes for a moment and then ...  BAM! BAM! BAM!

Alexis kicked the chalk bunny in the face. Repeatedly. With a giant grin on her face.

Maybe twisted is genetic after all.

Article originally appeared on burgh baby (http://www.theburghbaby.com/).
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