The ways of the Ninja

Ninja's were (in simple terms) the assassins of Japan.  They were known for their efficiency and ruthlessness, but especially for their stealth.  They were usually dressed head-to-toe in black and could move about as silent as can possibly be imagined.  They were the best in Japan and feared everywhere.  

The Ninja-quality I would like to highlight here is 'stealth'.  It is a ninja's strongest weapon.  The more silent a ninja can move, the more efficient he would be in his job or in executing his task.  The classic Japanese movies show how masterful ninja's were in running around, climbing, swimming and the like, all the while never making a sound.

My daughter seems to be quite Japanese in this aspect.  My wife and I constantly get surprised by her stealth.  For example:

• Jenny sleeps with both her parents.  In the middle of the night, I sometimes find her sitting next to either of us, wide awake without us having heard a sound.
• She wears silver anklets that make cling-cling sounds while going around.  Still she manages to enter rooms without making the slightest sounds.
• Not hearing a sound from her usually means 'trouble', as she is too preoccupied with something 'taboo' to make noise!  Like putting stuff into her mouth!

We are learning the hard way that when it comes to toddlers, less stealth or less silence the better.  Since they cannot talk, they express themselves through sounds...and if she doesn't make sound, the parent immediately should check!  It might be a false alarm, but there are often instances that prove otherwise.  And silence makes us paranoid as well.  When she is asleep and alone in her bed, and the two of us are not in the room, we keep rushing to her room just to make sure she is not jumping off the bed in silence!  And more often than not, she would still be asleep; but why take chances?  Silence might be golden, but I guess I could do with a little less silence from the baby at home! :)