Scrubbing the Table

E LOVES to help clean!  This week she's started scrubbing the table after meals, and you can tell from the picture that she has a lot of work to do on this art and food stained table!  She is always so happy and proud when I give a her a job.  I just hope she'll stay so eager to help out around the house! (the novelty seems to have worn off for her 4 and a half year old sister!)

Little Cleaner

IMG_0945 (Large), originally uploaded by omamom16.

O LOVES to use her window washing kit to wash EVERYTHING! She sprays down the tables, doors, floors, etc. and then wipes away the water. She even tried to clean a birthmark off of my leg yesterday! She saw it and said "don't move, mama!" Then she ran to get her water sprayer and squeegy (sp). She seemed a bit perplexed when she couldn't get the birthmark off of my leg. Silly girl! While she cleans she often says in an exhausted tone "O's been cleaning ALL day long!"

Hard at Work

Don't be fooled by this photo! I filled the wagon with sticks, and O only pushed it for a few seconds. She had trouble balancing it. I think we need to practice when its empty a little more before I fill it again :) Her Guh-guh and Grandpa gave her this great wagon for her birthday, and she's excited to have an "agon just ike dada!" Hopefully, I'll get a little more work out of her tomorrow!

Helping with the Laundry

One of O's favorite things to do is to "elp mama" load the washing machine. I sort the clothes from the hamper and put them in a pile in the hallway (outside the linen closet where the hamper is kept), and she takes them piece by piece to the washing machine. This keeps her busy for a LONG time (long enough for me to fold and put away a load of clothes), and she is very proud of herself. She kept sniffing the clothes while saying "dada's shirt dirty." Occasionally, she'd say "stinks" although none of the clothes actually stank :) O chose all of her clothes today, and she was very proud of herself. She was especially happy about her "tap-tap" shoes and socks!

Unloading the Dishwasher

I had no idea that unloading and reloading the dishwasher could be so much fun! This is O's new favorite way to "elp mama." She loves sorting the forks and spoons into the right compartments. After she finished unloading them, she quickly started reloading the dishwasher with clean utensils. She was having a great time, and she was dancing to the Beatles the whole time :)

Doing the slide back to the drawer. My girl loves to dance!

Slicing Eggs

O was so excited to slice a boiled egg for her breakfast this morning using her Grandma's egg slicer. The whole time I was peeling and rinsing her egg, she kept saying "egg, egg, egg..." She loved being independent and cutting it "all by herself." I hope we can find our egg slicer when we get home!

Pumping up the Wheelbarrow Tire

O was happy to help her daddy and I pump up the tire for the wheelbarrow. She's a great helper!

Cooking Supper

O and my mom cooked supper tonight. They made cheese tortellini with tomato sauce and spinach. Yum!

Washing Windows

O loves to wash the windows with the window washing set that her Grandmother gave her for Christmas. Her technique isn't perfect, and she need assistance with the spray bottle, but she sure does have a lot of fun!!!

Swiffering the Floor

O loves to swiffer the floor, but it was difficult for her since the swiffer is so long. I was excited when I realized that if I took out the middle 2 sections that its the perfect length for her. Now she can swiffer as much as she likes!

The Kitchen Helper

O's Guh-guh and Grandpa gave her a Kitchen Helper for Christmas, and I think its going to be another item that we use every day for years and years. We had a great time today using it while we baked cookies. O was at the counter with us participating every step of the way!

We've had a few problems with the kitchen helper so far. When I first put it together I realized that it was missing 4 screws. I called the company, and they told it would be a few weeks before they could send me the screws because the kitchen helper was out of stock. That was last week. Yesterday UPS dropped off a brand new Kitchen Helper. I was shocked! I expected them to mail me 4 screws not a new KH! While putting this one together I realized that it was also missing a piece, so I called to company today to let them know that this KH was not complete either. Their customer service department is great, but obviously they do not check these things too well before they ship them out. Dh was able to take a part off of the 1st KH to make the 2nd one complete, so we were able to use it today. Another issue with the KH is that the openings on the side make it very tempting for a toddler to climb up the side. O put her feet in the holes and was ready to climb, but we quickly stopped her and she hasn't done it again. I hope this won't be a problem. Even with these problems, I think the KH is a great addition to our household, and I am looking forward to using it every day. It will enable us to include O safely in so many more activities. I am looking forward to having her help me bake bread and cook supper on a regular basis. She'll also be able to have lots of fun having water play in the kitchen sink, and she'll be able to easily and safely help us unload the top rack of the dishwasher (she always wants to do this, but it was a little scary to put her in a chair so she could reach). Thanks Guh-guh and Grandpa for this great present!

She Loves to Cook and Clean!

O was so proud to help Elliott make cinnamon toast for breakfast this morning, and I was so proud of how he set things up to make it easy for her to be involved. Maybe he should be the Montessori homeschooling mommy!

O was so excited to try out her cousin, Margaret's iron and ironing board. I was shocked that she knew just what to do because we NEVER iron. My mom reminded me that O has probably seen us ironing fabric while we were making the quilt. Otherwise, she has never seen an iron in use!
We got O this kitchen set to use with her kitchen helper that her Guh-guh and Grandpa gave her for Christmas. Unfortunately, the kitchen helper is missing a few screws, and the company, Guidecraft, says it will be a few weeks before they can send them - Grrr! I'm sure that the kitchen helper is going to be wonderful once we can finally use it!

Making Caramel Popcorn

O, Elliott, and I have been making caramel popcorn for Ell to take to a few of his coworkers. O loves to help shake the popcorn in the bag! She's a great little helper!

Learning to Check Tire Air Pressure

O loves to do whatever her daddy is doing, so yesterday she learned how to check the air pressure on my tires. She was very excited to go around to each of the tires and check the pressure. He taught her how to check the oil today, but I didn't get any pictures of that.

Teaching O to do Chores

O loves to be involved in everything we do, so we have started teaching her to do chores. She enjoys helping unload the dishwasher, picking up Gracie's leftover treats, picking up her toys and books, sorting diapers (inserts go in the dryer and pockets on the line), and sweeping. Lately, she's even been helping me push the vacuum. Today when I was sweeping the den she came in from playing on the porch and brought me the dustpan. I was so surprised, and she was so proud! Helping Guh-guh put diaper inserts in the dryer.