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From the moment she could put together two word sentences, we've tried to stress the importance of manners to Cordy. She learned how to say thank you (or "fank ooo") first, mostly by listening to us always repeating it to her. "Please" was more difficult, requiring a long session where I held out on giving her a treat until she said please. It took over 20 minutes, and a small tantrum, but she eventually got the idea.

Since then, she's generally pretty good at remembering her manners. Her speech therapist has asked that we make her give us full sentences for all requests, so instead of a simple, "juice please?" she now must say, "can I have some juice please?" She often forgets her manners on the first request, but a quick reminder from me to ask properly is usually enough to get it right the second time.

I decided a few weeks ago that it was time to expand her etiquette lessons. Cordy has a bad habit of burping while eating, something that makes her giggle uncontrollably. At home I haven't minded, but in public it's drawn more than our fair share of offended looks from others. I'm used to strange looks by now, but making sure Cordy isn't an outcast because of her behavior is one of my jobs, so I quickly instituted our next lesson in manners: "excuse me".

This has gone exceedingly well. Maybe too well. She is the manner police now, giving a critical eye to anyone who would happen to burp or pass gas without stopping to announce "excuse me" to the room. More than once my husband has burped only to have a small voice respond with, "What do you say, daddy? Say 'excuse me' daddy!" I've found I have to be on my best behavior now so I don't get in trouble with our little Miss Manners. And Cordy won't let up until good manners prevail, either. This isn't always easy, as she tries to force Mira say "excuse me" when I burp her. Explaining that babies can't talk is hard to a three year old.

But my proudest moment came last week, when two young Mormon missionaries rang our doorbell. The snow was deep, the air freezing, and school had been cancelled for the day. Cordy was suffering from cabin fever, running back and forth, so I really didn't want to take the time to talk to strangers who interrupted my morning. These two chilled young men began asking me about religion as Cordy peeked out from behind me. I politely told them we weren't interested in hearing their message, but thanked them for stopping by.

"Is there anything we can do for you while we're here?" they asked.

One of the young men smiled at Cordy. Cordy smiled back, but said nothing.

"No, I don't think so." I replied. "But it's freezing out there, so keep yourselves warm, OK?"

Both men thanked us for our time and said goodbye. As they turned to walk away, Cordy stepped out from behind me and called to them, "Thank you! Goodbye, and stay warm!"