Baby Hein 2010: Independence

Sydney turns 22 months old tomorrow. Last year I started a monthly tradition of writing her a personal letter each month on her "birthday." I wish I would have started doing that sooner. Originally this blog was meant for her, with the idea I would have it printed in a book for her to keep. I still plan on doing that to some degree, but I also wanted to have a more personal dialogue with her in writing, and the letters are perfect for that. Each month I tell her what her favorites are, what she doesn't like, what we love about her, new things she is discovering, etc.

So thinking about her monthly letter tonight I realized just how independent she has become, even at a mere 22 months old. Nick and I haven't really started disciplining her yet because we figure most techniques will not be effective to prevent a behavior from recurring at her age. We have tried time-out in the past, but all she does is sit quietly and stare back up at me smiling until I tell her it's over. Hmmm. And if you ask her "do you want to go in time out", she typically will say yes. ?!?! So that's a no-go.

But lately if you ask her, "Do you need Mommy/Daddy to help you?" it's 98% effective to get her to immediately do or not do something on her own. Like if she is running down the sidewalk and not coming back, I say "do you need Mommy to come help you come back?" The answer is a quick "No!" and she comes running back. Or if she is doing something in the house she shouldn't be, and I ask her to stop but she does it again...I will say "do you need Mommy to help?" and she says "No!" and she stops. So what does that mean? Already at not even two years old she is showing a fierce love for her independence. And growing up. Awww. I'm not ready!

Today we had Easter with the cousins and family, and Sydney got to see Charlie again. We surprised her by picking him up on our way to Nick's brother's house. The entire ride there she was squealing and laughing, just looking at Charlie in the seat next to her. It was too cute. The whole way home they played peek-a-boo, with Sydney covering her eyes yelling out "Sissy!" until Charlie would then say "Sydney! Where are you!?" and she would show her eyes and laugh. I forgot to take my camera so I'm borrowing pictures from my sister-in-law, but I did get some snaps of Syd and Charlie when we got back home. More pictures to come tomorrow for Easter and her 22 month birthday!