by myself

This girl is getting so big and so independent!

A few things she's doing "a myself":

Going to the potty.

Lots of writing/drawing.

Talking with friends and family on the phone.

Getting dressed (so far, only pants and panties, but she is SO proud of herself!  She comes in at a run, spins, prances, jumps, and smiles at me like, "Check me out!")

(notice the inside-out, backwards nature of the pants.  And the cool-as-a-cucumber, I-dress-myself attitude.  We definitely left them this way and went out and about proudly :)

These are the shoes she ran in and put on when I said we were going to take a walk.  Not so practical for walking/playground, but super-stylish!

 

Since she's so very big (and mighty, she often adds, because of the song we love about God being big and mighty), it's sometimes hard to distinguish what are things she should do on her own and what she still needs help with.  I painted her toenails and she "helped" by taking the nail polish back in to put in the drawer.  After a too-long quiet, this is what I found. 
 

 

Thank goodness it was silver and not RED!

And a very indignant girl.  She couldn't understand why this was a problem--she felt pretty good about it.

And there are still things that she "needs" mama for.  I love seeing this independence emerging, but I'm secretly delighted that she still wants to depend on Mama sometimes.  One funny example is that when we eat Chipotle (which she LOVES) she sometimes gets a spicy bite, and says, "Ow ow ow!!"  My job is to quickly grab her sippy cup of milk and hold it up to her mouth while she drinks it and say soothing things like, "Drink some milk, baby, and it'll feel better."  She is definitely old enough to hold that cup up, but she really likes that I do it.  Now, I hear "ow ow ow!" fairly often when we're eating.  She somehow got a "spicy" bite of an almond butter/banana sandwich today.  I rush into action and hold her cup for her and we meet eyes and smile... our little secret that we both know it's just a comfort and a check that Mama's paying attention.  :)