My Little Helper

Recently I have been trying to find new ways to relate to Audrey. During the day it is just her & I, making it very easy to let her play while I clean, blog, or edit pictures. She is very independent and it can be very easy to use that to my advantage sometimes. However, when bedtime rolls around & I realize I haven't spent quality time with her I develop an ache in the pit of my stomach. She is not getting any younger. It won't be long before she is in kindergarten and I need to make more of an effort to use our precious time together wisely.

Audrey does not like to sit down and color or read a book the way Madeleine does. However, I have discovered that she likes to roll up her sleeves and help. On Monday she helped me make banana bread.

Her job was to smash the bananas

and stir the ingredients

At one point I turned my back on her to get a measuring spoon out of a drawer. When I turned around she was pouring an entire container of baking powder into the mix. I managed to get all of the extra out & no damage was done. The banana bread turned out beautifully thanks to her help.

Audrey and I have also developed a new evening routine. While Steven helps Madeleine with her homework, Audrey helps me do the dishes.

She rinses them off before I put them in the dishwasher. As you can see it is a job that she takes very seriously. I actually look forward to that time with her rather than dreading the dishes. It makes my heart happy to see her smile after telling her thank you for a job well done.