top chef

you have seen that madelyn likes to "cook" in the kitchen, but tonight i actually put her to work. she was asking to be "up" "please" over and over so i got a chair and let her stand next to me while i cut the onions. she has seen me use the chopper before and has always tried to see what i was actually doing. so i wasn't too surprised when she started pushing down the button that makes it chop. so we worked together. i cut the onion small enough for the chopper, got it started (the first cuts require the most pressure), and then maddie took over from there. the craziest part was that she didn't get watery eyes from the onion. i couldn't hardly see because my eyes were watering so much, but not a single tear from her. i told matt that she is going to be the official onion chopper in our house from here on out!



she pretty much won't let me cook anymore without being held up to see, so we are going to have to get this girl a stepping stool that she can use to see all the action on the counter and stove. since her presence in the kitchen has increased exponentially (climbing up me, striving to see what i am doing, wearing the oven mitts, etc.), we have been working on "hot" and "cold". mainly "hot" and stressing that the oven is dangerous when mommy has it open. she got it after the first day. this past weekend she even said "hot" while lifting her leg off her car seat buckle that had been in the sun and gotten warm. she even tells me she is "hot" when i cover her up with her blanket at nap time as a way of requesting not to wear it. we are still working on "cold", but she will have it in no time thanks to the onset of fall and winter - the high was 58 today.

we actually spent a decent amount of time out side today and madelyn got to wear her first tights of the season. she was fine with it except when it was time to change her diaper. she could not stand having them on her feet and ankles, which was surprising because i don't always take off her pants and shorts when changing her diaper. oh well, she will get use to it.

when we were inside i decided to let her use some crayons. we have tried crayons off and on for a long time now, for grandparents' cards and that sort of thing. she is just starting to get the hang of actually marking on the paper intentionally. we even got out some stickers for her artwork today. and the best part is that she didn't try to eat them or mark on anything other than the paper. she was very careful with getting them out of the box one at a time and even put them all back in the box when she was done.

after a decent nap she woke up happy and chatty, but then she started screaming. of course i

went running to her room to see what had happened, but she had just noticed some new items that she couldn't reach on the top of her bookshelf. so we got down the pillsbury dough boy figurine that grandma just sent her, then she wanted her mouse ears from our trip to disney (madelyn is really, really into "hats" right now) and then she wanted a little beaded elephant that papa and nana brought her from south africa. everything got a big hug or more when she finally had it in her grasp.


madelyn is really, really into hats. she puts on at least one hat a day. she can also say "hat" and asks for one when we go out sometimes (or stay in). she will keep putting a hat on over and over when it falls off - persistent.