try again, Madison Avenue

While shopping for some groceries, Charlotte came across this box of cereal. "That's silly!" she exclaimed. "Pandas don't eat cereal. They eat bamboo!" She paused, then added, "They probably put the picture there because people like pandas."

yes. no. yes. oh no.

We're experimenting with some new techniques to counter Charlotte's stubborn streak. (Yeah, yeah, it's great that she wants to be so independent. Spare me the euphemisms.)

This morning [well, at this point, several months ago], Mama decided to play a game where we count how many times we say "yes" and "no." The goal was for Charlotte to say "yes" more and "no" less. Of course, to be fair, the terms of the game applied to parents, too.

The first sentence didn't go so well for Charlotte. She was "asked" to let Daddy help her with putting on her knit hat. She said no. Minus one point. Mama explained the game again. Charlotte immediately replied "yes, yes, yes. That's three yesses." Mama explained the game again. She reiterated that the point is to say yes more, and that the game applied to us as well. Without missing a beat (literally: it was like one second later), Charlotte looked at Mama and said, "Tomorrow, can I eat popsicles? Yes?"

Game. Set. Match.

plop!

We recently [at this point, forever ago: June 21] released Charlotte from her cage. Down went the bars. Up would go the monster, we figured.

The transition has been *mostly* smooth. [One of us has had to sleep in her room as she falls asleep recently. Mama gets to squeeze into the bed with her; Daddy gets the floor when it's his turn.]

The cage contained her effectively. She's now free to spin like a top, unimpeded by walls.

The first night she spun right out of bed. This is what it looked like [more benefits of the spy cam setup]. (The event lasted about 15 seconds.)