Little Chef

We decided to give Sarah Beth her big Christmas present, a play kitchen, a little early because we will be at Grandma and Grandpa's for the actual holiday.  Ok, plus we couldn't wait to see her excitement at having her very own "titchen" as she calls it.  She LOVES the play kitchen section at the toy store.  I have to drag her out of there every time, prying plastic Salisbury steak and peas out of her hot little hands.  As expected, the kitchen was a big hit.

Our hidden agenda with giving her a kitchen of her very own is that she may spend more time cooking in her kitchen and less time playing in Mommy's kitchen.  SB has learned to drag the kitchen chair over to the counter to access whatever her little heart desires, including the upper cabinets, so there is literally no safe place in the kitchen other than above the fridge.  I'm guessing she'll learn how to conquer that in another week or so.  We're just keeping our fingers crossed for the time being that she doesn't develop a fondness for steak knives or glassware.

So far, "Sarah Beth's kitchen," as she calls it, is keeping her very busy.  She loves opening and closing all the doors, washing her hands in the sink, and fixing Mommy and Daddy all sorts of things from chicken and pizza to bacon and soup.  Along with the kitchen, we bought her a set of tiny stainless steel pots and pans to bang around.  And bang them, she does.  At least I know where in the house she is at all times thanks to the rousing clang clang clang of the pot lids.

I mentioned she likes to cook for us.  She was so inspired the other morning that she came in our bedroom at 4:30 AM having made us "breakfast,"  pushing her little saucepan under Mommy's sleeping nose.   "Eat, Mommy!  Try it!"  she said with such enthusiasm.  Oh boy.

Another unforeseen hazard of the kitchen has been her tendency to hoard food to play with later.  Thus far, we've found half eaten cheese, bunny crackers, raisins, a stale cookie, and quartered grapes (sticky!) in her kitchen.  I've learned to check it after snack time to make sure she hasn't saved anything for later.  The rest of her Christmas presents will include some sort of toy food products in an effort to curtail the hoarding.

The other thing we decided she needs is a baby doll.  Right now she has an Elmo, a Baby Bear, and a few other stuffed critters.  No dolls.  Probably because her Mommy hates dolls.  I had a Joey doll and a Mandy doll as a kid, but in general, I always thought dolls were creepy.  As a kid, I distinctly remember banishing a Victorian china doll to my window seat, then stacking heavy books on top so it couldn't get out.  And this was pre-Chucky era.  They were totally onto something with that movie though.  Dolls are evil.  I am only relenting because in the shower the other day, Sarah Beth picked up an empty shampoo bottle, wrapped it up in a wet washcloth and started calling it her baby doll, changing its diaper and rocking it to sleep.  Part of me feels a little guilty she's reduced to playing with empty personal care products for dolls, the other part of me is impressed by her vivid imagination.   The guilt is winning out though so I will do my best to find a non-creepy baby doll for her before Christmas.  Any suggestions?