Independence, Here I Come

Today was a fast day. Admittedly, I didn't fast, but I did have a tiring day at work, and Ben was of course fasting. So when Eden and I came home, we set her up with a movie pretty quickly, and chilled on the couch together. Eden came down when her movie was done, and we asked her to make sure to turn the A/C off before she came downstairs. It's really just a push of a button, its the largest button on the remote, and she likes to push those buttons anyway.

When we went back upstairs after she'd gone to bed, we realized that she'd not only turned off the A/C correctly but also:
1) Turned the screen off
2) Took the DVD out of the player
3) Put the DVD back in it's case
4) Put the DVD case back on the shelf.

All of her own volition! Wow! A kid I don't have to clean up after anymore!

A couple other milestones: Eden can now reach the light switch, and the hooks for our bags and coats.

This means a few things - that we need REALLY need to teach her not to turn the lights on and off on Shabbat, and that, at least when it's not Shabbat, to always turn the light off when she leaves a room. Also, she now makes a habit of hanging up her backpack when she comes home instead of leaving it on the floor. Pretty, pretty cool.

On the flip side, she knows where the permanent marker is that we use to write her name on her water bottles. She also knows how to write her own name, and does so - on all the water bottles she takes to gan (we switch them weekly). So we usually trust her with the marker, and think nothing of leaving it accessible. Except that it's red, and today she thought it would make an excellent color for lipstick. Which it does, and she applies it well for a four-year old. But its permanent marker. Luckily, we were able to scrub it off, or she'd have been particularly pretty this Shabbat, in her own way.

Off topic - on the baby front, there is something always going on in my belly. Or at least it seems that way. Either its Braxton-Hicks of the type that are enough to wind me, or I sit and rest and drink water to calm the Braxtons and the baby wakes up and wants to play. Its very tiring. Enough to almost make me want to fast Tish'a B'Av and go into labor early. A co-worker pointed out that Ben might not want to drive me to the hospital and be a supportive labor coach while on the worst fast of the year. I suppose I'll have to agree.