Independent

I wrote a sentence about this at the end of my last blog, but I thought I should write more about it.

For the longest time I've wondered if Michael was different than other kids.  I knew he didn't have autism or anything like that, and socially he seems fine, but I've wondered.  Mostly because while Michael has been independent he hasn't gone through some of the stages other kids have gone through, until now.

He just started the "no" to everything stage.  I always heard that happened around 18 months.  I wondered if he was just very easy going or didn't care to push his boundaries, but now he cares.  Now he tries to assert his independence by saying no to everything, even things he knows should be yes (like "do you want to see grandma?").  Sometimes he'll change his answer the second time we ask, but he prefers no for now.

Part of gaining physical independence he has started the "mean" stage.  He doesn't ever kick or bite, but he has been pushing and hitting lately.  The only time he would hit was when he wanted a high-five but couldn't communicate it.  Lately he hits Elli if she plays with his toys, he hits us for telling him no, and he pushes kids out of his way.  It has been a very tear-filled few weeks for this kid, and many time-outs have ended to begin another time-out.

I guess the good part is he is learning to be more independent.  There are perks to the whole thing.  We will be in the toy room and he asks for water, now I can tell him to go down the stairs to the kitchen and get it instead of getting it for him.  I'm hoping in about a month he gets over these behaviors, but we'll see.  It's harder now because he notices other kids doing the same things.  I should just be happy that this didn't start until now.

I thought I'd leave you with a picture of Michael trying out his independence.  He knows not to touch Elli's high chair.  When I took her upstairs to put her to sleep Michael somehow climbed up into it and got stuck.  Being the nice mom I am I decided to take pictures instead of getting him out.  Luckily for him my camera memory was full so I only got one picture and he got out of there pretty fast.