My Little Sous-Chef

Now that Ella is in school every morning, Lucie and I have been spending many more hours together. Honestly, I find this time precious. For some reason, I feel as if I haven't gotten much one-on-one time with her in these past two years. Even when Ella was in school three days a week last year, we rarely had time at home together -- one day was for grocery shopping, one she spent at her cousin's house, and one she spent at our house with her cousin. Our mornings are now filled with playdough, puzzles, educational videos (Brainy Baby French or The Letter Factory primarily) and cooking together.

Whenever I'm in the kitchen cooking up something, she nearly always wants to help. So, I carefully perch her on top of the counter, and we get to work. Some of the "big" things we've enjoyed making in the last month are homemade playdough and granola. Today, she helped me make my belated breakfast -- a fried egg. But, it isn't just during the morning that she likes to help in the kitchen. It's at dinner time too. She has become my little sous-chef. Although she really isn't much help, it is fun to have her "working" beside me and it feels good to be teaching her some skills in the kitchen. My heart just melts each time she asks, "What we do next?" or exclaiming, "It's makin' good!" when she thinks something looks good. Perhaps she won't always have this love of helping out her mother in the kitchen, so I am enjoying it now.