All you need is the proper motivation...

...and in Evan's case, the proper motivation is a McDonald's playdate with his cousin, Robbie. :)

You see, I've been struggling with encouraging Evan to do more things on his own (getting dressed, putting on socks and shoes, etc.) He can do these things "all by himself", and is very proud at times when he does. However, sometimes he claims that he "can't" or "doesn't know how" even when he's done it many times before. Sometimes he just wants my help, and especially when we need to be somewhere with our busy family schedule, it's faster just to help him.

So, last night I told Evan that we would be seeing Robbie in the morning. He is always very happy when I tell him that, but apparently he was even more excited than usual. Before he came out of his room this morning, he got himself dressed from head to toe ALL BY HIMSELF! That included new underwear, new socks, fastening his pants, and putting on his shoes. He even packed his backpack full of his special toys that he wanted to bring with him. With the proper motivation, this boy can do big things!

All I had to do was comb the bedhead out of his hair. I was a happy mom and he was a proud boy...
...and an "excited to see his cousin" boy too!
I think that Evan loves Robbie a little bit. ;)