A Big Helper

I am a bit of a control freak. It's one of the things I really dislike about myself. So I decided the only way to stop feeling like I have to be in control was to let part of that control go. I see blogs and hear friends talking about their kids cooking with them and I have just not been able to do it. Autumn and Weston have never expressed interest, but it was mainly me not inviting them and thinking all they would do was mess it up. :) Well about 6 months ago I found the cutest aprons and bought a pink and blue one thinking I would start letting them help in the kitchen. Well- those aprons are still in the cupboards with the tags on them and they've never even see them or needed them.

So last night was a first for us! Autumn came to help me make some cookie bars. Last year Autumn went to preschool 3 days a week, this year it changed to 4 days and since Fri had never before been a preschool day the two preschool teachers decided on Fridays to combine the classes and do cooking experiments. I realized then that Autumn needed those fun memories of baking and cooking with her mom; not just with her school mates.

We made Chocolate-Frosted Peanut Butter Cookie Bars.

Autumn did awesome. I measured, she poured, and most of it made it into the bowl, but yes- my kitchen was a bigger mess than it would've been with just myself in there, which I kept having to ignore.

Once we got to the frosting part she was done. But I did have her spread the frosting. She did such a lovely job!

It was a lot of fun. I think Autumn enjoyed herself too. I need to take more opportunities to spend just one on one time with her and enjoy letting her help me, it helps me get over this need to control everything! :)

The recipe is from Our Best Bites...can be found here.

2 Kids In Preschool

Autumn started preschool (again) last week. It's crazy to think that this is her last year in preschool. She is loving it and glad to be back with her same teachers again. Last year she went 3 days a week and this year they changed the program to 4 days a week. That made me one happy mom, I cried when I got the letter! I think it'll make the transition to Kindergarten that much easier and just seeing how much her speech improved last year with 3 days, I can only imagine how much 4 days of preschool will benefit her.

Weston started preschool today. Myself and some moms that I go to church with got together to do a co-op, similar to Joy School. He was so excited all morning to be "going to school." We get there and it wasn't quite what he was expecting, I think he imagined a school- or a classroom similar to Autumns, but when I picked him up 2 hours later he talking about the letter A, apples, puzzles, and his friend Merick. Sounds successful to me! Preschool will be good for him, he walks around bored when Autumn's at school and this will help him have something to do while Autumn's at her school.

I am loving this stage that my little family is at, they're learning and growing so much everyday. Plus I love the extra one on one time I get with Bailey while their at school.

Guest Post

Hi. I am Bailey. I'm 7 months old and currently busier than ever. I started crawling a month ago, and while we were on vacation visiting my grandparents in TX I really got the hang of it and was cruising everywhere. But crawling wasn't enough for me. I have an older sister who is an overachiever and my mom talks to other people about how smart she is and how early she did stuff so I feel this need to keep up with her. So as soon I could crawl, I started pulling myself up. No, not to my knees- that wouldn't be impressive. I took it a step further. I find anything and everything I can and I pull myself up onto my feet. I have had a few tumbles and fell a couple of times, but practice makes perfect. And mom always comes quickly to my aid if I am in distress. It drives my mom nuts that I didn't just enjoy crawling for very long, she wishes I would've crawled for awhile and then later figured out how to stand and pull myself up. But where is the fun in that?

Using the coffee table:

 Using the couch:

 I want to be wherever my brother and sister are. So I climb up and stand with them.

Using my sisters table:

 On my sisters bed:

 On my brothers bed:

Using my moms leg:

If there's a way for me to pull myself up I will do it. My moms favorite thing- I babble a lot as well, and instead of saying, "babababa" like I did for several months now I say "mamamama" because I can tell it just melts my moms heart. :)