I dedicated today to intent mothering. In otherwords Scotter was my myside all day today, doing puzzles, playing with trains, switching the laundry, putting away the dishes, going to the art and children’s museum and making dinner.
All through dinner prep Scotter stood, on a chair, by my side. He happily chattered on smiling and laughing and finding ways to be involved. When I started cutting the broccoli he got a plastic fork and started cutting alongside me. When I spread the broccoli over the rice he threw a couple carrots he had been snacking on in too. When I scrapped the cheese sauce over the chicken he scrapped the remnants of his hummus. Mostly, he thrilled at the snacking involved with cooking. He was sure to try the cheese sauce, and ate 25% of the broccoli in the casserole before I had the chicken chopped up to lay over top. 
His latest is “self.” He says it whenever he feels we are encroaching on his independence. He says it when he wants to climb in the car himself, when he wants to stir his yogurt himself, when he wants to climb on the couch by himself. While I love seeing him push himself to learn new skills, I struggle to let go of the control inherit in doing most things for him. 
His vocabulary is expanding everyday. Tom and I are frequently laughing at the sweet and funny things he says. Like today at the art museum when he saw a greek statue of a nude Apollo and asked: “Diaper?” Later seeing another nude he questioned: “Shower? Potty?”