got milk?

this week madelyn has been helping me get her milk by pulling the carton out of the refrigerator while i get her cup. as you can guess, some days it is heavier than others. so sometimes she sort of carries it an inch at a time before setting it down to get a better grip. thankfully, she isn't quite strong enough to open the refrigerator by herself. not that she doesn't try really hard! sometimes she will go and get the water dispenser tray and bring it to matt or i as if we had been searching everywhere for it.

she has been helping with meals quite a bit. she really likes to get cans or other food containers out and insists on eating whatever is inside. she carries it to her booster seat and puts it in the seat while she goes back to get me. then she goes back to her seat to get the can and bring it to me. and back and forth and back and forth until i open the can for her - adding signs for "eat" and "more" for emphasis about what she wants. she has also learned how to open the pantry cabinet in the kitchen (in addition to the corner cabinet where we keep canned goods - shown in the picture) and spends dinner prep time emptying everything out that she can reach. every now and then she will start putting things back, but it must be more fun to take it all out.

and she has been eating great! not that maddie has ever been a bad eater, but she is eating her veggies better and pretty much cleaning her plate at meal times - breakfast in particular. she eats about a cup of porridge (today's was rice, yellow split peas, kale, kelp, and brewer's yeast - i know - yuck!), half and avocado, a whole banana, and still signs for "more"! a few grapes or other fruit usually get her full enough that she asks to get "down" - literally.

more about her new words in my next post! love.