Baking cookies with two.

Any time I am making something that seems half way exciting.....Parker will take it upon herself to push a chair right up to the kitchen counter to 'help.'  Well....for a while now.....Grace has done the same.  Usually I do something to diffuse the situation....like get Geoff in there to get them out!  Or....reluctantly....just let them help.  ;)

Tonight after dinner....I was really wanting some chocolate chip cookies.  We ate early....and it was only 5pm.....and they don't really take all that long to make, but I didn't really want them to have that much sugar so close to bed time.

Well- my craving got the best of me and decided to go through with it.

After pouring in the flour....I realized that this was Grace's first time ever to help me make cookies.  And so I did my best to capture it with a camera.

A few things:
-So glad that Parker was there to help.  Grace is SO fast and grabby!  And she is also still little....so I think if Parker had not been there to help her while I stepped away momentarily to snap a few pictures....there would have been a bigger mess than what was made.
-I had so much fun doing this.  I would find myself getting agitated when Grace was being so grabby so quickly, but then would remind myself that this was fun....and was a good memory made.

Yes.  This is still her 'cheese' smile.

Just the flour in the bowl....and this mess had already ensued.

I let each girl add in a stick of butter.

She got it in there.....

And as quick as she plopped it in there....she picked it right back up and licked!  I let out a loud sound that made her immediately drop it.  It all happened too fast to capture....but what you do see here is her trying to pick it up again!

Licking her fingers clean....

Adding sugar....

Parker was so helpful....

Again....she is was so quick!  She was in heaven.  She felt so big and so special.  And mostly.  She loved the sugar.  And the butter.  ;)

Now Parker's turn to add some brown sugar in...

Mixing....

Waiting for the mixing part to be over so she could stick her fingers in the bowl again.

My favorite picture from this afternoon....

After I put the first batch of cookies in the oven, I told the girls it was time to clean up.  Parker asked if it was ok if she went to play while I cleaned up.  Sweet of her.  ;)

She asked if they could go outside.....and it's nice now that I don't mind them going outside if I'm right inside seeing them through the window.....



It was so nice being able to clean up while it was quiet.  Without 2 little ones at my feet.  At one point...I peered out the window and saw Parker on her swing and Grace was pushing her.  I ran for my phone to take a picture, but they had already decided that they wanted to do this.....



I'm not that comfortable with them outside that I want Grace to be up their unsupervised....and since now...she can apparently make her way up the steps all on her lonesome....it poses a problem.

So I coaxed them back inside with warm cookies and milk.

She was being so silly while dipping her cookies in milk.  I would just laugh outloud at her...which only egged her on.

As the cookie got smaller....she began getting her whole hand int he milk....until it..."slipped out of her hand."  I'm sure it did.

Then started acting fake dramatic how it was 'just too slippery to get'....which was really code for "I want to keep dipping my hand in this milk because I know that I am not supposed to, but I am going to see how far I can push Mommy today."

After the cookies....I tried to clean up again....


.....and looked over and saw them laying together in the living room.....just playing around.

For whatever reason....I finally decided tonight to take a few pictures at bedtime story time.  I have wanted to take pictures for a while, but have always dreaded it because of the low lighting.  And that's another reason I love my phone.  For the photos!  So much easier than my real camera.

After the girls brush their teeth....we go into Parker's room and read 1 book of their choosing...usually an 'easier' book that we read Parker at Grace's age.  Then Brown Bear, Brown Bear.....Grace's favorite.  Then after I put Grace to bed...I read Parker 1 or 2 more age appropriate books for her.

Tonight- we read My World....it's a little board book written by the same author who wrote Goodnight, Moon (another book I love).  Honestly- Grace is such a wiggle worm, she really only pays attention to Brown Bear.....most other books she closes after we read her the first page or two.   But tonight she (and Parker) was very intent on what I was saying.

So I propped up my phone to video us reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear because Geoff taught them all the noises of the animals while reading one weekend when I was working. I had the screen facing us to make sure that I got them in the frame....and Grace was enamored with looking at herself. It is hilarious {to me}. She loved this. It's almost 3 minutes long, so I figure it'll only be seen by family, but if you get a chance....I think it might make you laugh, too.