Enabling and teaching, with more mess and more time = VERY REWARDING

Mike had recently expressed slight frustration in the fact that "I'm not EVER going to be able to do ANYTHING alone in the kitchen again, am I?"

I reminded him that there are PLENTY of people out there who would LOVE the opportunity to be parents. "You're right!" he said "I guess I waited almost 40 years to get to this point."

True, it would be MUCH faster, easier and cleaner to be able to do things yourself. It does seem to take 10x's longer to get ANYTHING done with a miniature helper. However, we are enabling and teaching our child how to function in the world and it is VERY REWARDING to see him thrive.

As we open the dishwasher door, Sydney comes running at the first sound of clanking dishes. You can point to almost ANY item inside the dishwasher, and ask him "where does this go?" He KNOWS almost everything and is proud to show/tell you where. AMAZING! He's been doing this for more than a month already! (He also likes to help unload it and hand us items one-by-one, pointing to where they go.)

Who would've thought that an 18-month-old would KNOW where you keep a mixing bowl, a collander, a vegetable peeler, a cutting board, a pizza cutter, an egg slicer, an apple corer, a spoon rest or the butter dish?

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE BEING A MOM!