Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Miss Independent

My little Buckle Monster is not satisfied with just one alter-ego.  Oh, no.  We are now witnessing the rise of Miss Independent.  I should have seen this coming, but a lot of obvious things escape my notice when I have approximately one year's worth of sleep IOUs on my tab.

It used to be such a simple matter to place her in her booster seat, buckle up, and slide in.  However, she has now tasted power.  She has held those buckle clasps in her miniature, chubby fingers and she has heard them snap together.  To have Mommy or Daddy take charge of this process is simply unacceptable now.

Small problem: when she's sitting in the chair, she's approaching those familiar buckles (which are a bit of a challenge for her developing motor skills at the best of times) from the opposite direction.  She turns the receiving end backwards and twists the insert around.  And then she struggles with the unfamiliar angle.  Long story short, I'm now faced with an outburst borne of frustration (because she can't get the buckle done) or indignation (because I preemptively strapped her in myself).  Glutton for punishment that I am, I first let her try, and deal with the first outburst, then take over, and deal with the second.  Best of both worlds.  But at least she had a go at it, and that usually results in a quicker cool-down time.  Plus, it will be worth it to her and to me the day that she finally figures it all out.

Other things she's attempting to do herself lately:

Pull off her shirt at bath time (she needs help actually getting it off, but she'll pull the bottom up to her chin).
Wash her own hair, with food- NOT a fan of this development...
Turn the pages of her books as I read them (she's actually quite adept at this with the cardboard versions).
Assist in putting toys away (and then promptly throwing them back on to the floor).

She's developed a great fondness of her near-daily walks with her father, sometimes accompanied by Michael in the double, other times not.  Here she is before a solo stroll last week.


I think she actually prefers the double stroller, though, as the front portion of it is set so far forward that she's put into the middle of all of the action.  Also, she's less restricted on either side, and on the few walks in which I've had the energy to accompany Tom, I've had the pleasure of watching her stretch out to one side with Superman arms, like she's flying.  One of these days, I've got to capture it on film.

She's also developed the habit of insisting on being put in Tom's lap during dinnertime.  We've been consistent about making her wait until poor Tom can finish his meal, and while it doesn't stop the incessant chanting of "Daddy?" and "lap?" we have gotten to the point where we can remind her that she has to wait without a tantrum ensuing.

"Daddy?"

"Lap?"

If you look carefully, you can see the clumping of her hair from the macaroni and cheese that she rubbed in it just moments before.

She just loves to cuddle with her Daddy...

... that is, until she doesn't.

Little Miss Independent.