Yogurt and Independence

As I'm typing this, on a crispy Seattle Saturday morning, Rhia has yogurt all over her face, hands, jammies, and I think there may be some in her hair. There is no yogurt on her spoon. There was at one point, I'm sure, as the yogurt is halfway gone and it's not all on her person, but for now, it's a messy process. Until a couple of weeks ago I fed her yogurt in the morning, for the sake of simplicity (and probably my sanity, as well). Last week, she decided that she wants to do things for herself. Putting on coats and hats, eating, etc. It's been a messy week. We're no longer allowed to feed her things (unless of course we're having a snack that she seems to think she needs too, at which point she follows us around going "ahhhh, ahhh," with her mouth open. We're working on breaking this habit and replacing it with "please").

She's getting independent. And busy. Every time I've taken her out for the last couple of weeks at least one person has called her "Miss Independent," and the women that run the kid's center at the gym where I do yoga call her "incredibly busy." They had to put away all of the little chairs yesterday because she kept standing up on them and trying to jump off. She's a daredevil. So imagine the two of us, at home with her on any given day. Unfortunately, fall in Seattle is rainy, so that means a lot of time inside. Heads may explode soon.

Despite the challenges that Miss Independent has created for us, I'm really proud of her. I love that she's sassy and independent, although I'll probably recant when she's 14. But for now, I think it's a good start for a modern women. :)

We're all doing well. Al is plugging away at school, I'm working a few days a week for a local winery, and Rhia is smarter than both of us combined. She's exploded with vocabulary, yet again, and she's very polite and lovey. Tantrums are abundant, but from what I gather that's normal for a 1 1/2 year old. She's started to say, "I love you," which is all types of melt-worthy.

And, on that note, the yogurt container is empty. Time for Operation Clean-Up. This might take awhile.

Just for fun, I dug up a picture from last October. I think she's changed a bit, yes? :)

Feminist hippy in training.

Cool.