We've all heard of Little Miss before and as I was putting together this post I started a search for a "Little Miss Independent" and come up with nothing. There are several Little Miss characters, but no Independent and that's what I would characterize my daughter as. As I look through each Little Miss on this list, I see a little bit of my daughter in each, so I guess you could say that Little Miss Independent would be a combination of all the Little Miss characters put together and she would end up looking something like this...
This is my Little Miss Independent! Last week she turned 2 and has wanted only to do things for herself. Her new favorite phrase has been "I do!" for the past week. I have mixed feeling about this stage in her life. Part of me loves that she's becoming her own person with her own opinion and a strong desire to do things for herself and rely on no one else. Being a very independent person myself, it's heart warming to see my daughter take after me so much. I see a lot of myself in her and I don't think a mother could ask for anything more than to see what she thinks is her greatest attributes in her own child. I have always been proud of how independent I have always been and now to see my daughter take after me in that sense brings me so much joy. On the other hand, it's a little disheartening to see my baby grow up so fast, to need me that much less. To know that with each day her dependence on me grows smaller and smaller. I know that I'll always be her mother and she will always need me in some way or another, but to see your baby grow up will always be difficult no matter what stage in life they are in.
I strongly feel that the recent move has helped bring on this sudden sense of independence in Hayden. Our old townhouse was small and a little cramped since the basement was unfinished and Hayden didn't like playing in her room (something about that room always frightened her and she never wanted to be in there alone, not even during the day) so we would all cram into our little living room/dining room/TV room. Soon there was no space for the dining room table, so that got moved downstairs to make room for all of Hayden's toys. Before we knew it, Hayden's toys had taken over the entire room. You couldn't step anywhere without stepping on a toy. She didn't really have her own space since we were always right there on top of her.
Our new house has plenty more space including her own little play room just off the kitchen. It had been a garage before, but the previous owners transformed the space into an additional room. This has become Hayden's little oasis. She'll go in there for hours at a time and pop out whenever she's hungry, thirsty, or in need of some quality "mommy time". But beware when entering this room, you must be invited. No unwanted guests allowed. When she's in there, it's like her own little world and she doesn't like to be disturbed. One day I tried to go in to play with her since she was having a little tea party (or "O" party as she calls it) with her Disney characters. As soon as I walked in the door she stopped what she was doing, faced me and with her little chunky hand extended out to me she shouted, "No mommy! Go!" Or I'll be in the living room watching a movie and she'll come scampering through the room and dart up the stairs screaming "Bye mom" as she scales the steps and runs into her room. Her bedroom is much more inviting then her last bedroom was.
But I'd have to say my favorite part of this new found independence is waking up Saturday and Sunday mornings when I don't have to go into work and have time to sleep in with her. The way the upstairs is set up I don't like leaving her in her bedroom to sleep yet since we don't have a gate to keep her from going downstairs. There's really no space between her door and the steps and one false move and she'll be on the foyer landing before I'm even able to get out of bed! So for now she is in my bed with me. She'll wake up at about 7:45 AM and sneak her way out of bed, trying to be as quiet as possible. I'm a pretty light sleeper, so I feel when she moves around on the bed. I'll go to get up and she'll run over to my side of the bed and try her hardest to push me back down, all the while say, "No mom, sleep, sleep!" I'll lay back down as I listen carefully as she happily skips off to her room where she'll play on her own for about 15-20 minutes and then come get me when she's ready to go downstairs.
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