Dish Towel Apron

Safety disclaimer: she's on the counter, but I never step away from being right in front of her so she won't fall!

Hadassah enjoys "helping" me with dishes (really, splashing in the water and looking at the soap bubbles on her hands!) and I enjoy having her with me when practical as I do chores, hoping to model for her work and encourage her to help. She loves when I let her do anything, putting her spoon in the drawer when I put silverware away, put the silverware on the table as I'm setting it, try to help me sweep the floor (this one gets tricky!) and hold the handle of the diaper pail as I carry it to and from the laundry room.

She went through a phase, though, where every time I let her do the dishes with me, she'd try to eat the soap bubbles. That combined with the fact that I don't use purified water to wash them made me stop. I tried her again recently and she enjoyed it and didn't keep tasting the soap, but her clothes would get all wet from her splashing and picking things up out of the water. It was inconvenient to change her clothes and it's cool enough I don't want to leave her wet. I tried putting a towel on her lap, but she'd immediately pull it off...

Enter the dish towel apron! I didn't have any thick, absorbent fabric on hand, and there's no local fabric stores that I know of. So, necessity is the mother of invention! A dish towel proved to be the perfect width and size for a toddler. I simply cut a whole in it, and used safety pins to bring it together under her arms. Soon I hope to finish the neck edge and sew on snaps to use instead of the pins, but I needed it in a hurry today. ;) It's not the prettiest thing around, and won't get her dry from all enthusiastic splashes, but it's worked well twice today!

I'm really loving the age she's at. It's hard to get stuff done, as she's SO curious about everything and has had more than a few tumbles and tears as she walks everywhere. But, she's getting to the golden age where she wants to help me cook! As I bake, she knows that when I fill a measuring cup or spoon, she can tip it over into the bowl. She tries to help me mix - and tries to stick her hands in the batter - but I love seeing her enthusiasm. Who cares if it takes longer... if it's something we can do together and I can teach her and accomplish something needed, I'm a fan!

We made The Best {No Sugar Added} Banana Muffins today. I've been wanting to cut back on sugar (trying to half the amount in recipes where I can, etc.), especially as Hadassah is eating pretty much what we do now. I was excited to find these - no sugar, no honey, no syrup, no applesauce - but I really didn't miss it. The banana gives it a naturally good flavor and they are delicious! We mixed them together before Hadassah's afternoon nap today, and when she woke they made a great snack for us both.

Thank you, Lord, for a daughter to train and work with...