Independence for all!

My little man has become SO independent recently. I thought he was before. No- that was nothing compared to the last week or so! (Now, I think some of it is because this last week was so hectic for him, maybe he wanted SOMETHING HE could control. But no matter why...)
First of all, we have a laundry chute in the bathroom. I never let him throw clothes down there because I'm worried he might start throwing other stuff down the chute, or fall down in (he's small enough so he fits right in the opening), and almost never let him see ME throw clothes down there either. But the other day when I was waiting for him to finish on the toilet, I threw a few clothes from the floor down into the chute. He burst out crying. I didn't realize why at the time, so just helped him get off the toilet, pull his pants up and go to the other room. It finally dawned on me what the problem was, so I asked him if HE wanted to throw clothes down the chute. He didn't answer, but got quieter, so I picked up a pair of socks and a towel from his floor and brought them into the bathroom and let him climb up on the step (cover to a kids potty chair) to throw the clothes down. He was much happier.
I don't remember if it was the same night, or the next night, but he knew it was bedtime, was playing in his room for a few minutes, then I turned off his overhead light (we have a low-level light on for him at night) and went to gather him up for reading his bedtime story. He burst out crying. I told him that he KNEW it was bedtime, and had been good about it before, so I didn't know what the problem was. He still continued to cry. Finally I asked him, "Did YOU want to turn off the light?" He slowed down his crying. So I carried him over to the light switch, let him turn the light on, then off again. No more tears. He was so much happier and went to bed like normal.
A few days ago, Terry changed Gavin's diaper (and for months now, he has asked Gavin to throw away the wet diaper afterwards--it's kind of Gavin's job), but either Terry or I carried the diaper out and threw it away. Gavin was so distraught, he started crying, then ran out to the trash can, opened the cover, and tried to reach in and get the diaper (so HE could throw it away.) But the diaper was too far down, and Gavin leaned in too far, and got stuck! (I TRIED to get a picture, but wasn't fast enough!) Anyway, we took the diaper out and gave it to him so he could throw it away. All was right with the world then. He had completed HIS job.
What a big boy he's becoming! That he actually gets upset when he doesn't get to do HIS "chores" (nothing formal yet) or take part in running the household. Like I said, I think it's actually because he had such a stressful week, but whatever the reason, he feels very strongly about helping out with some things. So of course we're going to let him. I think it's important that kids help out with the household if they can, it makes them feel important.
We all went for a walk (including Jasmine) last weekend, and we let Gavin hold the dogs leash. He was so thrilled! He ran with her, stopped when she stopped, and only had to drop the leash once, when she was sniffing around mailboxes for a long time. He was so proud of himself! So I've started realizing he really is ready to take part more in helping run the household.
2 nights ago, I realized I needed to run to the store for more drinks for him (before bed), so Terry was going to read him his books, give him his bottle, then put him to bed. Gavin looked at Daddy in his chair in his room, and said "Daddy, GET UP!", while still crying and holding onto me. SO, I took my customary place to read to him. Now, he's sometimes allowed Daddy to start the bedtime process, but not this night! I think he was just still wanting his Mommy, because he didn't let go of me for the longest time. Too much stress for him this week (between feeding therapy, starting one class, and doing age testing for preschool services), and he needed comforting. Which, of course, I feel sorry for him, but I also know it's typical development for his age! Poor little man. It's a rough transition for him, but at least I'll be there for him every step of the way!