Elena is a wonderfully independent child. She will ask for something once, but if she doesn't get it quickly, she will just figure out a way to get it herself. I love this quality in her. I try to instill independence in all of my children, and it is definately more natural for some than others. Because of her independent nature, at 2 1/2 she is able to dress herself,(most of the time with a backwards shirt and shoes on the wrong feet) get her own water, wash her own hands, and climb the climbing wall at the park. Every once in awhile the independence is a bit much. When she is hungry, she will help herself. This photo was taken after a bout of the stomach flu and so she hadn't eaten all day. She was hungry and had already eaten one peice of bread. I wanted her to wait to make sure she could hold it down before giving her anything else. She decided to take things into her own hands.
