Welcome to our kitchen table. Micah has entered a lovely little independent stage of toddlerhood. She wants to do everything herself, including eating. For the most part, it's not a big deal, but today we had spaghetti for lunch, and I knew it was a disaster waiting to happen. So what did I do? Grabbed the camera and turned it into a photo op.

Go ahead, Micah. Shove it in. Why use a spoon when you've got 10 little fingers? She likes holding her spoon and will protest loudly if she's not given one. Sometimes she allows me to help her put food on the spoon and guide it to her mouth, but for the most part, she wants no assistance whatsoever. Inevitably, she gives up on the spoon and uses her hands; they're so much easier to control, you know.

We went straight from the highchair to the bathtub. Nothing a little soap can't fix. Yes, that is a ring of spaghetti sauce in the tub. No, it wasn't there before I bathed her.