I was under the illusion that staunch independence and, at times, out right defiance would come at a later age. I'm beginning to understand that I have many misconceptions about childhood! Our latest battle is tooth brushing. She would be more than happy to brush her teeth, as long as we let her do it herself. I'm sure you can imagine a toddler attempting to brush her teeth. There is lots of brushing of the lips, crunching down on the toothbrush, and sucking the toothpaste off the brush. Very little "cleaning" actually occurs. To Harper, she is doing a fine job. According to me, this is still a task better left to Mom. I am going to record our next toothbrushing session so that the dentist can see one of two things; 1) that this twice daily task more resembles a UFC mixed martial arts match than a common hygenic practice, and 2)that there is evidence that I tried, tried to keep her teeth as clean as I could. I want video documentation in case there was something wrong with her teeth, it wasn't from lack of effort on my part.