Mama, I do it!

Grace's favorite phrase right now is "Mama, I do it!" and "Dada, I do it!" comes in a close second.

She is definitely at a stage where she NEEDS to do everything herself, dress herself, put her shoes on, help buckle her car seat, etc. It is a very long day of independence and although it can slow us down when we are in a hurry, we have now learned to just not hurry. We are now on Grace's pace, letting her open and close the front door, pick up all of her toys, and walking by herself. It is such a strange feeling to see my little girl, who I still feel is my baby, and know she can do so many things without me.

We always read to Grace every night before she goes to bed. I start, do a couple books, and Pat finishes it up with another book and some songs she loves to sing. The final part of the night is always reading the book "Bless Me". Pat has read this to Grace every night since she was a little baby. Tonight, since Pat had class, I did the whole routine. Pat always reads Bless Me without the book, he has it memorized, but I do not and pulled out the book. Grace looked at me and said "No, me read Bless Me, mama!" and proceeded to turn to the first page. She made it halfway through the book, reading every page right. No, I do no think she was reading, I get she has it memorized, too, but how amazing! She stopped half way through and said to me "Your turn, mama." When I finished the book, she gave me a hug and said "Good job mama!' like I had said to her when she was done.

Moments like this make me realize my baby is becoming a smart, funny, caring, and helpful little girl. We must be doing something right!