Don't help me

I'm not sure what is happening with this picture but I'm just going with it. I'm including the pic because it's a great example of her personality. Hailey has a strong sense of independence in her. It especially shines through when she is eating. She refuses to be feed. She wants to do everything by herself. If you raise a spoon to her mouth or even put food on a spoon or fork for her, she says no, turns her face away, and gets up as if she is completely rejecting the food and is done eating. This can be frustrating especially since there really aren't all that many foods she will eat in the first place. But it you put the spoon down, look away and leave her alone, she will start to eat whatever it is she initially refused. We are typically pretty good about letting her do her own thing when it comes to eating but occasionally there is a food that is hard to spoon or finger or she has just a little bit left on her plate and just without thinking I'll spoon it for her. It never works. It's really starting to shine through that she has a very strong will to be independent and strong dose of stubbornness to go with it. I have no idea who she inherited those characteristics from :)

I was just thinking yesterday that her independence is a little funny since for the first 14 months of her life I had to carry her around pretty much all the time (a little less after she started walking at 10 1/2 months) and she more or less refused to look at most people. She's really come out of her shell (my back appreciates it). Now of course, I wish she was a little more attached and would snuggle a little more.