Something to Call Her Own

Parenting books often tell you that toddlers between 1.5-3 years old will often defy the wishes of their parents (esp. the mother) because they are trying to establish their own independence. I have seen a lot of this in Scarlett in the last 6 months. What's even more interesting to me is that she likes to have her own "something." For example, this past Tuesday, I stopped by Jamba Juice after picking her up from daycare because I had a Buy-One-Get-One-Free coupon and it was relatively warm. Scarlett never had Jamba Juice before. I split my smoothie into 2 small cups and got a "free" one for hubby. Scarlett was so happy to get her own Jamba Juice. The minute she got hers (and all the way home), she would point to her cup and say, "small one, Scarlett's; big one, ba-ba's". She really liked having the same thing I was having, but her own version of it. Yesterday morning, I had to be on a conference call at 7am, so my husband watched her while I stayed in the "office" to work. As I waited for the meeting to start, I overheard her telling her dad that the breakfast bun was "Scarlett's". I chuckled in my mind and thought about how cute it was that she would point out something that was hers ("this is Scarlett's...").