Miss Independent

First of all, if you were a Pi Phi at Arkansas, then you will agree that anytime you hear the words "Miss Independent", you instantly have visions of the rush skit in which the studious dancers ripped the scarves right off of their necks to then swing them around their head. Who choreographed that?!?! And more importantly, who told them that was a good idea?!?! But seriously, anytime I hear Kelly Clarkson singing that on the radio, that's all I can think of!

Today I decided to let Harper try to feed herself at lunch. She was more interested in putting her fingers into the applesauce container.... so this will obviously take time. But it was a big step in her becoming a "big girl" in my opinion. She also has a love for opening cabinets and pulling every single thing out of it. I'm sure this is something all kids are obsessed with. So I decided to clean out some random cabinets we have in our den and fill them with her toys. This has given her hours of entertainment!!! Her toys finally have a real home! It has also given us the opportunity to work on cleaning up. I sing a silly clean up song, and she has a blast putting everything back in the containers.

She is definitely doing more each day... taking more unassisted steps, saying more words, and not crying when I drop her off at the gym. That last item may not be a big deal to you, but it certainly is for us!!! In the past I could barely get through my workout before they were coming to get me. Today she waved bye to me and went about her business. We had a nice long run with stranger anxiety (I think mostly because she couldn't see), so I am certainly glad she seems to be moving on!

Checking out her utensil

She did this only twice

Pulling out all of her books!

And for some really fun news (that you may or may not care about)... I'll be teaching preschool at a program called Jubilee Junction starting in September. It is at Trinity Fellowship and is only 2 days a week. Harper will also be going, but she will be in the Mother's Day Out program! It is one of the few programs that has both preschool and MDO at the same time. I will be teaching the 3 year old class, so I am really excited to use my major again! I think this change will be great for everyone in the Pardue household!