Going....Going... Gone.

Harper thought she was the bees knees when she made her way over to the tupperware cabinet the other day(...in about 30 seconds, I might add.) I came back from the laundry room and feasted my eyes upon this:

"Mom, do you see what I just did... all by MYSELF???? Why have you not previously introduced me to this baby heaven?"

Going.....
Going.....
Gone.

A good hour of entertainment was had by all. I got to cook dinner, and she got to crawl in and out of the cabinet, launching plastic with each and every whim. What more could a baby want?

Switching gears now to Grace...She is a smart girl... a little too smart for her own good maybe... Yesterday I caught her in her first lie. (Well, I am sure she's told a white lie or two in the past, but this time, she was really trying to work in a story. What? Lying? She's only 3... should I be worried? Do we need to seek counseling now?

I'll try to be brief (ahem.)
As I was fixing Grace's lunch yesterday, she was in charge of helping Harper eat her little puff snacks. I wasn't paying attention, just trying to get the mac and cheese cooked without burning it, when I hear Grace say: "Mama, look, Harper ate her vitamins! Yay!" I whirled around with a look on my face that made Grace uncomfortable, and I said, "What? Harper doesn't have vitamins honey, what did she just eat?" About that time, I noticed the little bottle of teething tablets in Grace's hand. I ask her: "Grace, are you talking about the teething tablets?" "Uh-huh" she replied. "Grace, did you give some to Harper?"
"Nope, I didn't"
"Are you sure you didn't give some to her?"
"No, I didn't do nuthin"
By this time, she is squirming in her pants and can't stand still.... and I notice some spilled on the floor, and she knows good and well, I've got her number. So, what does she do? Confess??? Tell the truth? Oh, no... she blames her sister!
"Mom, Harper did it, she opened it and ate some. Harper did it."
So, this goes on for a few more minutes, and I just said: "Grace, you will not be punished if you tell mama the truth, but if you do not tell me the truth, you WILL be in trouble." So she tip toes around and with her head down, she looks up at me and says... "yes, I gave her some... and I 'filled' (spilled) 'em too."
So, she did not get punished and we talked about lying and telling the truth.....But when we got home later that night, and Chris asked her about it, she lied AGAIN! Going through the whole story just like she had before... and I was sitting in the room! Dude, seriously???? Please tell me that there are other 3 year olds who have lied and have tried to talk their way out of it!!! I guess now's the time to teach her, when the things she can lie about are so small in comparison, but geesh... is this a sign of bad parenting already???? Noted: my fault for having the teething tablets somewhere she could reach them in the first place....

advice? encouragement?