Independence Day

My daughter Leila is no stranger to independence. She has been claiming it since the day she was born, refusing to breastfeed on schedule, getting me into trouble with the nurses who threatened to give her a bottle if she didn't start feeding every two hours. Since then she has moved on to bigger, more annoying battles. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't appreciate that she is a strong-willed little person who takes control and isn't afraid to try new things, it's just the way she goes about doing it sometimes.

Her new answer to everything is "Mommy, I do it!" She insists that she put on her own shirt, which nine times out of ten is on backwards and stretched out by the time she gets it on, she tries to put on her own shoes though she hasn't yet mastered the left/right thing, she wants to wash her own body during her bath though she concentrates mainly on scrubbing her tummy, and she wants to wipe her own bottom after she uses the toilet, even though her arms are still a smidge too short to reach properly and I always have to double check. She also wants to brush her own hair, brush my hair, feed her sister and change her sister's pamper. Today, however, she took her independence to a new level. She was playing with her dolls in the living room when Mia came over and tried to grab one of the dolls. Leila yelled "No!" snatched the doll from Mia and pushed her away. Mia, still a little wobbly on her feet, fell down. Before I could even say anything Leila stood up, looked at me and said, "No, Mommy, I do it," and began to walk away. "Where do you think you're going?" I asked her. "I'm going in Time-Out," she told me as she went into her room and closed the door.