Piper and our current invasion of chipettes proudly delivered this to me this morning:

Remember the great allowance debate? Piper’s been saving her dollars and picking up loose change with her trash. Remember that $5 bill that Grandma and Grandpa sent for Valentine’s Day?  It adds up and eventually my if-you-want-a-lalaloopsy-so-bad-save-your-money-and-buy-it-yourself speech comes back to haunt me. She’s been begging for a lalaloopsy. It’s hard business not giving in to her demands. It’s not just her soft brown eyes and the gut punch you feel when a usually joyous Piper has a quivering lip.  It’s that a Piper is relentless.  She beats you down.  She makes you count her change daily and google the lalaloopsy sale prices.  When Piper wants something, just call it a day.

So, off we went to the store with a box full of money hoping for a hard-earned lesson. Piper was patient while I did the other shopping.  She was gracious standing in line to pay with her own money for the first time.  She was proud of herself. We headed home with our heads held high to introduce Berry Lalaloopsy (she’s the $11.48 variety) to the rest of our family.  She made friends immediately.

Then she sat down on a stool and watched her man make her dinner.

Piper may have learned even more than I bargained for.