I voted. Did you?

I let Penny dress herself again this morning. Matt got her diaper changed, and then while he went to shower, we went over to her closet and she told me what she wanted to wear. (Wrigley Field t-shirt and pink sweatpants. I almost balked on the t-shirt since it's so cold out, but she's inside most of the day, and running around, so I think she'll be okay.)

Then I left her to it while I went to get dressed myself.

While I was in the closet, she ran in, holding her shirt, and said, "Oops! I missed!"

"Oops!" I agreed. "Go try again." She ran off.

A few seconds later she was back, the shirt on her head, peering at me through a sleeve hole. "That's the sleeve, silly!"

She wiggled the shirt around until she was looking out the neck-hole. "Like that?"

"That's right!"

She let out a (fake) grunt of effort as she tried to pull the shirt down over her head. "Do you need help?"

"No no, I do it!"

"Okay, well, go do it."

She ran back to her room, and was back a few seconds later. "I did it!"

"Yep, you sure did. How about the sleeves?"

"Okay! I be right back!" She ran off, and was back almost instantly. "I did it!"

"Great! ...Now the other sleeve."

"I be right back!" ... "I did it!"

"Great, sweetie! Now go put your pants on."

I was a little worried she'd try running back and forth for each stage of the pants, too, but she just sat on the floor in her room and gave me a running commentary.

"Like that?"

"No, start at the top, silly."

"Like that?"

"Yes."

*grunt* "I can't do it!"

"Yes, you can. Try again.

*grunt* "Where's my foot....? There it is! I did it!"

"Okay, now put the other leg in the other hole."

"I can't do it!"

"Yes, you can. Keep trying."

*grunt* "I can't do it!"

"Do you want me to come help you?"

"No no, I do it!"

"Okay. Keep trying."

"I did it!"

"Yay! Stand up and pull 'em up, then."

"Wait a second." (This is pronounced not impatiently, but very earnestly, with an accompanying hand gesture, and is possibly one of the funnier things she's learned from me.) A moment later, she runs into our room again, fully dressed. "I did it!"

"Yay! Good job, sweetie!" (I have, in this time, managed to put on socks and pants, but am still working on my top half. Can't imagine what's making me so slow!)

I think we need to keep this up. I think Penny gets a real sense of accomplishment from being able to dress herself, even if she has to consult with me every three seconds. (And if you know me, you might think that was hyperbole -- but if you know Penny, you'd understand it really isn't.)

It doesn't even make the morning routine much longer, since I'm getting dressed at the same time. It does slow my routine down a tiny bit for all the consultation, but she's still been dressed and ready to go by the time Matt was out of the shower both yesterday and today.

I'd like to get some little shelves, or maybe do a re-arrange in her room, so that she can even get her own clothes off the rack. (It would also let me put non-seasonal stuff out of sight. She spent all summer begging to wear her Christmas dress; now that it's turning cold, all she wants to wear are sleeveless sundresses.)

Encouraging independence but being ready to provide support. It's what all the best parents are doing this season.

--Liz