Independence

Lately I've been hearing a lot of "I do it!" with a tone of sheesh mom - back off, or "I did it all by myself" with a tone of sheer pride.  My boys are growing up and and there is very little I can do to stop it.  
Miles has always kind of allowed me to take the lead, and has never resisted me doing things for him.  Which is good (for my heart) but bad (for his development).  For example, one time (about a year ago) teacher asked me if he could get dressed and undressed by himself.  I honestly didn't know the answer because I had never given him the chance.  (I mean, doing everything myself without allowing others to give it a go - that doesn't sound at all like me does it?! (shut it D)).  So that day I went home and told him to take off his shirt and put a new one on.  He grumbled a bit, and then just did it.  Like that.  Easy peasy.  He has however, been the type to closely observe others and then just out of the blue start mimicking them without asking for a word of help.  He was twirling spaghetti on a fork before he was one and a half.  Now, without a single word of prompting from me, he is eating with a knife and fork properly - like the Europeans do it.  He knows what buttons to push on the remote to get a movie, and will sneak on to my computer and pull up his computer games from the internet based on the bookmarks I have saved.  This kid is so funny.  I love it.

"shaving"

Miles playing a computer game (deep sigh) all by himself.

Liam is very different.  Almost every conversation we have involves one of us saying "No, I do it!" and it is usually not me.  Sometimes it's hard for me to let go - like when it's late at night and I want him to get into the bath PRONTO and he has to undress himself and I "accidentally" undid one of the buttons on his diaper without his permission....and I wait.  Those times are harder...because friends, if you know nothing else about me, know that I am not a good waiter.  He has to do everything that his brother does.  "I get my yogurt" "I pour my water" "I put on my coat MYSELF!" This list goes on and on.    And on.  His determination is amazing, and sweet, and when I'm not screaming into a pillow, really empowering. 

No ordinary cereal for us...cornflakes, rice krispies, yogurt, and bananas "just like dad"

How soon do you think I'll be able to leave them home alone while I go out to dinner with my husband?