"I do it, too!! My turn!"

The time has come. My little girl is almost two and she is ready to be an independent woman. There are very few things that she doesn't think she can do. From cutting melon to getting dressed.

For the most part she is okay with being denied the opportunity to do dangerous things (e.g., cut melon) , but she does get really irate if you try to help her put clothing on. As helpful as this has the potential to be, it can be quite time-consuming and trying. Three mornings a week she is home alone with the Hoos, they are usually running late, and time and patience (on either of their parts) are in short supply.

This morning, the end of LP's first five day week at day care, I was home to handle LP while the Hoos could take his time getting ready for work. I patiently sat at the top of the stairs while she:

1. removed her pajamas, shouting "Zippa!!!"
2. put on her pants, correctly - after I showed her how to make sure that they were right-side out and the tag was in the back
3. pulled on her short-sleeved onesie, let me adjust it so it was not on backwards, and pushed her arms through without assistance
4. repeated step 3 with her long-sleeved shirt
5. put on her socks - pulling them up to her knees - and then let me straighten them out
6. retrieved her sneakers, removed the inserts (these are part of the shoe, I have no idea why she takes them out, but whatever), stood up and held on to my head for balance as she tried to put them on
7. responded appropriately when I said "wrong foot," lining her shoes up so she would put them on the correct foot

All this only took 15 minutes. Well, if you don't count the 23 month lead up of learning and development... It really is amazing to me that my little LP is so grown up.

Now if only she would curb her independence when we are in a rush or out in public.