When we moved into this house a year ago Calvin was still too short to reach the bathroom sink by himself, even with the aid of a step stool. But kids grow, and they also become desirous of independence, so last week 
(and when I say last week I truly mean throughout all of the week, but that's another story) Jon replaced the hard to maneuver single knob style faucet in our downstairs bathroom so that Calvin could easily wash his hands all by himself. Calvin was over the moon about this new measure of selfdom. This morning, while I was tidying the kitchen a bit, he called to me from the other room to say that he wanted his diaper changed and that he was "all ready for me." And if I wondered what that could possibly mean as I stopped my chore to go join him, my wonder turned to terror as I 
rounded the corner to find a trail of liquid from the bathroom to the play room. I could only begin to imagine what that fluid could possibly be, but my terror turned to inner laughter when I found him in the play room, clean diaper in one hand, and a number of dripping wet wipes in the other hand. My little helper. He truly was ready for me to change his diaper, and I must have missed the sound of the running water in the bathroom while I was running in the kitchen. Something that I have found to be true is that with that sense of independence comes a desire to help in ways that only a toddler can, an observation that is a great source of pride and happiness for me (even when my work increases tenfold because of it).
