Lydia Log: Little Miss Independence

So Little Miss, at about 17.5 months of age, has developed quite the stubborn disposition. I suppose it could be considered "independence", but without the benefit of speech on her side, who's to say. Alls I know is that when she wants to do something, you'd best let her do it, lest ye be subject to an extended session of whinging and crying. And being the fun-sucking drill sergeants that we are, such sessions are not uncommon (lately anyway). Apparently this behaviour (i) is normal, (ii) only happens around us (Mom and Dad), and (iii) was instilled into Lydia from the ether, or such is my theory, seeing as neither Terri nor I are particularly stubborn or independent. But I am pretty whiny, and I have been known to cry at certain grand, sweeping, crescendo-ing songs... and animal movies... and alarm clocks - so maybe that's where it comes from.

That said, when she is doing what she wants - like climbing on her playset, or swinging in her swing, or running over the roots and depressions in the backyard in search of birds, or rolling around on our bed, or changing her doll's diapers - she is downright squealy happy. And it is fun, which makes it hard to say no, but we remain vigilant fun-sucking drill sergeants.

That's right, I said "changing her doll's diapers". It has been her new obsession - diapers and babies - ever since she met her new baby friends, Lucas and Tabitha and Kate and Jay. She has all of her clothed dolls stripped naked. Our living room is littered with diapers. She's learned how to open the tabs and pull back the diaper to examine the doll's butt. Then she says, every single time, and I'm not making this up, "ew, ack". Then she will take a cloth and clean the doll - face, feet, belly-button, bum, repeat. She will do this over and over again, for as long as we let her. I hope (half-seriously) this is not indicative of any early OCD, but even then, it is a pretty cute compulsion for a 17.5 month old to have (I have to assume she'll move on to others by the time she reaches her twenties, when the whole doll diaper changing thing would be preeeetty creepy).

And that is that.