Child labor

Last week my sister-in-law and I went to Ikea and I bought a step stool so Madelyn could help me in the kitchen. She loves to do whatever I'm doing - stir the tea, help make sandwiches, put chopped veggies into the pot. Today, she scooted the stool up to the kitchen sink on her own and proceeded to "wash" the dishes with much enthusiasm. She kept saying "I wash, I wash ... bubbles!"

She also loves to sit on it as if it's a picnic table to color or eat her snacks. It has been a big hit so far! You can see in the picture that it is already marked up with crayola. It was her first time to write on something other than paper.




We also went to Wal-Mart today to do a little shopping. As I was putting the bags in the back of the van, Madelyn saw an empty Styrofoam cup blowing around near the van. I told her the wind was blowing it. Apparently she thought she needed to help and the next thing I knew she was blowing with all her might and absolutely delighted that she was causing the cup to move. I didn't burst her bubble. I just cheered her on ...