Independence or "Leave me alone"

Lillie and her Occupational Therapist in the play area.

We're not sure when it happened but, Lillie seems to want her independence. We used to be able to hold her for long periods of time. Now, she's decided playing on her own is just fine.

Don't get me wrong, we can still play on the floor and get the giggles we love to hear. She still loves to play with us, too. It does make her easier to watch.

Basically, we now have a non-toddling toddler. Lillie doesn't walk or crawl yet so, the attitude and opinions came but she still can't get to where she wants to go.

She knows what toy she wants and when she wants to be elsewhere. To get us to put her down, she leans forward to get out of our laps. She's gotten better at rolling around, which means she can change toys when she wants by reaching for a new one.

We've created our own play area for her (a blanket is the area, surrounded by toys, padded chairs, games and her exercise equipment). We spend lots of time with her there. We try to do the exercises the therapists do - obviously, we're not as good. She's even started playing with a drawing program on mommy's iPad.

Lillie continues to do better and better. There may be some setbacks along the way but, we feel ready for anything. We're so proud of our girl.