"Do it by Self"

Bethany has really grown a lot the past couple of years. She goes from a completely needy infant to a terrific, quasi-independent toddler. Lately, she has been asserting more independence while letting us know she wants to, "Do it by Self."

We almost always let her do whatever it is that we formally assisted her independently....although the outcomes of her independent endeavors aren't always conventional.

Here are a few of examples of her "doing it by self."

At the zoo this past weekend, she really wanted to wear her backpack. Doesn't she look like such a big girl? I can get used to having her tote around some of her own stuff!

Bethany has finally figured out how to put Mr. PotatoHead's features back into his head. She has always needed assistance with this toy. I do have to admit he does end up looking like something out of Picasso's paintings!

While she's been an independent eater for quite some time, we've cut back on slicing her food in easy bite-size pieces. This has resulted in far messier faces and hands. But, hey, she's cleaner than I am half the time!

Here is a two-in-one shot. She almost pulled her pants up by herself & she's trying to wash her hand sans help from Mom & Dad. I'd tried to help her get her pants up completely over the diaper...but she insisted they were up...so there they stayed. After all, she doesn't look worse than half of our male students anyhow--they always have their britches showing, too!