I Help!

I admit it, I remember doing this as a kid too. I always wanted to help my mom or dad, never of course thinking that it might be a source of annoyance or interruption, I just genuinely wanted to help. Michael is definitely a little helper at heart, and he always wants to be a part of the action. "I Help" is one of his favorite phrases.

Michael is also extremely fond of baking, and has his own little stool that he can stand on to help Mommy. On weekends, Andrea usually makes breakfast, and whether it is waffles, pancakes or french toast, it always involves cracking eggs. Michael loves to crack eggs with Mommy, however, being two, he doesn't always have much patience. One morning, he decided that Mommy was not being fast enough at cracking eggs, so he was going to do it himself, he opened up the egg carton, and got an egg out before Andrea knew what happened (the kid is quick), and trying to follow Mommy's example he banged the egg on the bowl. Unfortunately, since his technique has not yet been fully developed - let's just say "gentle" is not sticking in his vocabulary - a majority of the egg ended up outside of the bowl, and to Mocha's benefit most ended up on the floor. Sometimes I wonder if they conspire to do things like that, there is definitely some sort of connection between toddler and dog, and I can see both of them being that devious.

Another job that Michael loves helping out with is the trash. The trash is actually picked up on Fridays, but we always put it out on Thursday night. Tonight when he tried to help he went straight for the big sack of dirty diapers - which of course he couldn't carry, so Andrea put some trash in a small sack for him. She actually got two sacks ready, because since I had to make two trips, Michael had to make two trips. Then we both took the trash can to the end of the driveway. I am not sure how heavy anyone else's trash can is, but ours has wheels and always seems to be packed full and heavy. This presents quite a challenge when you have a 30 lb toddler on one hip, especially when he wants to help pull too.

One day, maybe when he's a teenager, I doubt he will be so helpful. I suppose we should be grateful while it lasts even if it does take us a lot longer to accomplish our tasks. I'm also grateful my parents let me help even though I know I must have been in the way.