A mind of her own...

Little Lydia has lately proven to us that she is a very headstrong little girl.  She knows what she wants, and when she wants something, she wants it immediately.  Nothing has proven this point as clearly as the wooden push cart she received from my parents as a Christmas gift.  This cart is really intended to be pushed by the child.  It's the perfect height for young walkers.  Lydia has made a few tiny efforts to push it herself.  What she really likes, though, is to sit in the cart and be pushed by Mama or Dada.  

She is the funniest little thing in this cart.  She obviously loves to ride in it, but she rarely laughs or smiles.  She just sits up straight and looks around.  She often carries multiple stuffed animals on her lap, and she reaches out to pick up animals if we happen to go by them on our travels.  If Don or I stops pulling, she waits expectantly for a second before saying, "Eh...eh" and rocking back and forth a bit, as if that will make the cart start moving.  Her first tantrum occurred one day when I took her out of the cart after pushing her around for 10-15 minutes.  She stomped her feet and cried.  Not wanting to give in to this type of behavior, I made her read a book with me before I would allow her to climb back in.  

She's also learned to climb into the cart on her own.  Even if it's filled with a bunch of stuffed animals, she can climb in around them and settle her butt down into the cart.  It's the cutest thing ever.  Don and I grumble about the endless circles we traverse with her, but I think we really love it.  How can you not?