mashed potatoes

This morning was the kind of morning that I've looked forward to having as I watch Daniel grow into more of a toddler. In short, we made mashed potatoes.

It was a messy morning that started with Daniel deciding he wanted to make some "soup." We went and sat in front of his play kitchen with a few carrot sticks, and I got out a couple of red potatoes I had on hand, and we used plastic ("safe") implements to try to cut up the potatoes, which took forever, but we finally accomplished it.

At one point, Daniel strained and grunted and said, "I can do it!" And then he popped his potato in half, and I was so proud of him.

We washed the potatoes and carrots in a strainer, then put them in some water to boil. A while later, when they were soft and cooled off, we sat on the floor and mashed them with a fork. Daniel added plenty of salt and pepper, and I added butter. And then we ate them (until Daniel poured his milk into them and made them all runny and then poured them all over his high chair tray).

The whole process held our attention for a good bit of the morning. I loved it. I love watching concepts click in his head. I love seeing his sense of accomplishment. I love that we can do things like this together now.