My daughter seems to be an early practitioner of mind control.

Some of it is pretty blatant, and I guess not technically mind control, like when she tosses a toy my way and states, "you be the _____ and say ______". But still a bit on the control side of things.

Then are the times when she says in a very quiet voice, while reading a book, "where is the ______?" And I dutifully repeat her question a bit louder so that she can proudly show me that she knows exactly where it is.

Along those same lines are when she remarks something similar to "you want go outside" - clearly said as a statement. And the adult nearest her inevitably repeats the statement verbatim, only phrasing it as a question to verify that was, in fact, what was said: "you want to go outside?". To which my daughter very enthusiastically replies, "YES!" and has suckered in another victim. It's actually pretty damn funny when it happens to someone who isn't expecting it.

Her newest bit is to walk up to me and say, "you want to hold me while standing up in the kitchen." It's like the beginner's version of the Jedi Mind Trick. Especially since she's got the big puppy dog eyes down pat.

I'm in so much trouble already...