Jim was working late at school tonight, so the girls and I ate supper by ourselves. Kathleen had discovered some sprinkles in the pantry this afternoon when she'd helped me unpack a box, and had asked to eat some. Knowing that I won't have time for mixing, rolling, cutting, and baking cookies in the near future, I offered a compromise. We made some vanilla pudding for dessert instead, and Kathleen put some sprinkles on that. (Not a perfect solution, I realize, but she went for it, and that's what mattered!) So, while Kathleen ate her colorful pudding dessert, I offered Madeline a (plain) bit, too.
Madeline does most of her eating herself these days. She eats fingerfood almost exclusively. When she does have something that requires a spoon, like yogurt or oatmeal, I generally feed her. Tonight, though, Madeline took a few bites of the tasty dessert and decided I wasn't shoveling pudding quickly enough. She took hold of the spoon, dipped its end into the bowl of pudding, and stuck the spoon in her mouth. Again and again and again. It wasn't perfect, and it certainly wasn't neat, but she got the job done. I only wish we'd found our camera, because video of her newly discovered skill would've been priceless.
Madeline can eat with a spoon! Who knew? Certainly not Mama!
After the pudding, though, we moved directly to the bath. The girls bathe almost every night anyway, but there was no delaying that ritual this evening -- Madeline was a sticky, sticky mess. The girls were playing and gently splashing, and I was sitting cross-legged on the floor directly in front of the tub. After I'd scrubbed them each down with a washcloth, I leaned backwards (still sitting in front of the tub) to rummage around the under-the-sink cabinet, looking for some Q-tips. And as I turned back around, I was startled to find Madeline standing next to me. For a moment I was confused. What just happened? And then I realized -- she'd climbed out of the tub by herself!
I popped her back in the tub and watched as she stood up, threw one leg over the side of the tub, squirmed up onto her belly, and then slid down, out of the bathtub.
Madeline can climb out of the bathtub! Who knew? Certainly not Mama!
I'm going to have to keep an eye on this
2 comments:
I am so guilty of this too. Deacon pretty much eats everything with his hands, but in the last week I've been letting him feed himself his yogurt. Like you said, it's not perfect, and it's messy, but boy is it fun.
They grow up so fast, don't they?
Madeline sounds a lot like Sophie-and so different from Ben. Sophie is a real climber and do it herself kind of girl. We usually require a bath after dinner these days because she insists on feeding herself.
As for the climbing, her new trick is to climb on top of the kitchen table. There are things you can reach from up there that a chair just can't! (Like the chandelier!)
These kids certainly keep us on our toes!
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