sure. odin has always been independent and strong willed and it’s certainly served him well having been born so soon. and sure. he’ve had to learn strategies for getting past no.

but for the most part, odin has expressed that strong willed independence in creative and surprisingly helpful ways. like getting upset if we don’t let him push his stroller. or close a door. or feed mauja by putting a serving of dog food in his dog bowl and taking it to him.

so, you can imagine that it came as a complete and utter surprise when on a trip to a local library he instantly transmogrified into The Independent Toddler.

you know the kind. they don’t want to sit in their stroller and when you let them out instead of helpfully being helpful they do something they’ve never done before. they run. and yell “noooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!” when you try to pick them up or otherwise corral them. and once you do finally get them somewhat contained in a semi-secluded part of the children’s section – rather than being helpfully helpful at picking out new and interesting books like they have on every single prior trip to the library – they decide to pull every book within reach off the shelves.

a declaration of independence? indeed.