Miss Independent!

Wow, how quickly they change!  Lizzy just went from a sweet little innocent girl who didn't care what she ate, what we were doing, or where we were dragging her, to a self sufficient toddler with an attitude!  If you give her a green cup, she wanted a pink one.  If you put on Elmo, she wanted the Wiggles.  If you give her a sandwich, she wanted a hot dog!  It's a constant battle these days to get her to eat her dinner when not to long ago I stated that she would eat anything!  Now her favorite phrase is, "I don't like it" and throws it on the floor for the dog.  So, she has had many days of no dessert for not eating her dinner!

And I don't know why all kids go through the phase where they have to do every little thing by themselves!  I remember Sydney did the same thing, and she still does, which is probably where Lizzy gets it from.  It just makes everything take longer.  Lizzy likes to get in the car by herself, which is hard since she can't reach, but she sees Sydney doing it.  Then, she has to buckle the carseat by herself.  She clearly can't do any of these things, she is way too small, so everyday she has a tantrum because I helped her get into the car.  Then, she cries over the music.  My strange child likes Mama Mia, so if Sydney picks a song she doesn't like, she just cries, "I don't want that" until you finally put on something that she is satisfied with.  Then when we get out of the car, she has to climb down by herself and shut the door by herself, which usually results in her banging her head.  Then she rubs it into Sydney's face..."I closed the door Sydney, and you didn't".  I don't know why she says that because Sydney doesn't even care...she closes her own door!  I think she likes to be the boss and tell people like it is!  When we go outside to play, she tells the dog, "you're not going Savannah" and shakes her little finger at her.  Or when she is watching her show, she will say to me or whoever is making too much noise, "you go in the other room".  She even tells Sydney what to do, and oddly enough, most of the time Sydney plays or does what she says.

The other day I was taking the garbage out and she was waiting for me, but she said it was hot (which it really was) and that she was going inside to watch the Wiggles.  So, she banged on the door for someone to let her in, and I'll be darned...she went into the playroom, got out the Wiggles, put it in the DVD player, and pushed play.  Then I heard her say to herself, "I'm firsty" (thirsty), and she went in the kitchen, opened up the fridge (which she never used to be able to do), got out her cup and went back to watch her show!  Guess I'm useless these days, she can do everything herself.  Not really, of course, but it's amazing how much she can do all of a sudden.  Even little things like turning on the water when she brushes her teeth, a meltdown if I do it.  Or getting into the bathtub.  I am so scared that she will slip and bang her head, but she insists that she is getting in by herself.  I still hover over her though...she is growing up way too fast!

The up side to all of this is that she completely wears herself out and is still my good little sleeper!  The only caveat to that is she has to have specfic blankets or stuffed toys in her bed.  Every morning, there is a pile on the floor of any blanket or toy that didn't make the cut for that night.  But once she is comfortable, and we've sang a song or two, she is out for the night!  She tends to sing to herself in bed for a while, but she doesn't bother us and is quite content entertaining herself!  We even have to wake her up in the morning!  I better knock on wood that her sleeping pattern continues!

We will have to see what happens when she actually turns two!  Stay tuned!