independence

ava and daddy's tour of the park usually includes two of golden gate park's playgrounds. they end at the "little playground" where ava likes to show off her ability to do a "lap" all on her own (see video).

at 20.5 months, ava is suddenly coming down with a case of "i can do it myself!". at the arboretum, there is a stone courtyard wall that ava likes to clamber on. the wall is about 3 feet high and there are a variety of different ascents. ava mastered one of the more difficult routes today, accepting my usual "spotting" without complaint. after one successful ascent though, ava decided that she'd had enough of mommy's hovering hands. she pushed me away and said "bye bye!" quite firmly. i conceded a distance of a few feet, but then snuck up on her again once she was a foot off the ground. after completing her second ascent (and noticing my trickery), ava came up with a new plan. this time, she dragged me over to the nearest bench . . . "mommy sit down . . . mommy bench . . . " and then stomped off a few feet . . . "bye bye" . . . and went back to her wall, casting the occasional glaring glance over her shoulder to make sure that i stayed parked where she left me.

if you listen closely you can hear ava saying "big step", "big step" to herself as she goes up the stairs.