Hold on!!! Wait for me!

"Oh no daddy I got it."

That came from my daughter's mouth and sent chills down my spine. It had reared its ugly head earlier than I had expected! What am I referring to, you may ask?
Independence, that's what!
For the first two years of her life my daughter needed one of us for virtually everything: eating, mobility, clothing, bathing, everything. Slowly but surely, as humans do, she became more and more proficient at walking, then running; at eating, then feeding herself; at helping us dress her, then picking out her favorite tutu! She is growing and we're having a hard time keeping up with her...at least I am. At least once a week, my wife and I look at each other and wonder where is the little kid that we brought home from NYU or the child who we thought would never get the hang of eating solids. She is truly coming into her own and I'm very proud of her...and sad.

I have always wanted a little girl for a number of reason, one of which being because I wanted a child I could teach and share things with. Boys discard their parents for more 'fun' things far faster than girls do. Girls tend to want to hang out with mom and dad more then their male counterparts. I knew that if I had a girl, I'd have a learning buddy well into her teens...right up until she starts to think daddy is lame and starts to get embarrassed by me. But that's not for a while right, I thought? My baby girl is going to look to me for a long time as her source of knowledge, assistance, and fun.

Nope, I seem to have underestimated that time line and baby Greene is already figuring things out on her own. Now, she still loves her daddy and we will always have our drumming/dancing sessions when I get home, but she's definitely cleaving her own independence. I hope she doesn't go too far though... I have a bunch of museum dates planned for us....

These are my thoughts ...what are yours?