Cooking with Livi
Even though I’m all about enjoying the present moment, there are a lot of fun things to look forward to with Liv. I’m so excited to take her to a movie one day, or ride a roller coaster, just to name a couple. I know those days will be here before we know it, just like how I was once SO excited to be able to cook with her.
And now the time is here.
Livi is quite the little helper in the kitchen. She’s made enchiladas with me, and is now big enough where she’ll stand on a chair at the counter -I stay next to her- and intently watch me as I make dinner. I’ll give her little jobs to do, like pouring in ingredients or stirring the bowl. She’s also a fabulous taste-tester 😉
My favorite part is when I’ll tell her what we’re doing and she’ll say, “Yeah!” after each step.
“Ok, so we’re going to put the beans in the food processor.”
“Beans. YEAH!”
“Some garlic..”
“Yeahhhhhh….”
“Lemon juice”
“Juice. Yeah.”
and so on.
It’s funny because even though Tom likes food, I feel like I found my foodie soulmate. Liv LOVES food, just like her mama. She’ll also let you know if something is particularly delicious. I love having her in the kitchen with me, especially because, for now, she thinks washing dishes is awesome. When she says, “Livi wash the dishes?” I’ll fill a big bowl with soapy water, hand her something small and the brush. She’ll scrub and scrub for at least 20 minutes. Juuuuust wait until she can load the dishwasher 😉
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Having little helpers is fun! I have two that will eat better when they help me make it. Here’s a neat kitchen tool that let’s them help in a safe way. http://www.littlepartners.com/the-learning-tower/
Yes! We just got this for Tripp. Best. purchase. Everrrrrrrr.
i’m glad to hear it was worth it, because it’s pretty pricey (i think) for what it is
We got ours on craigslist for $75! I was not about to pay $200. If you have any crafty woodworkers in your fam, they can make it for about $50.
I love this!! Luke loves to help me too. Although he is a little younger that Livi, he likes to sit on the counter with me and stir everything or at least be in “on the action.” He also loves to help empty the dishwasher. He puts everything in one drawer and it is the cutest thing ever!
This is so cute! I used to love cooking with my mum (still do, if I’m honest) – it’s so good to bond and you always learn new skills! xo
So cute! My son loves helping too and I feel like it’s a good way to encourage healthy eating. Plus, he’ll taste test pretty much anything even if he won’t eat it on his plate. The one downside is it takes much longer to do anything with his help, so I have to force patience, which is hard! Christmas cookies will be super fun for you this year!
So precious! This will be wonderful memories for years and years to come! I am glad she is big enough to be able to hep you in the kitchen now!
Aww some of my favorite memories of being a kid were up on the kitchen counter “helping” my mom make all kinds of food. I even helped by marking up several pages of her cookbooks. Now you can flip through the pages and see my artwork along with my name and the date next to it. Pretty cute to remember what we were making way back when. 🙂
So cute! Apparently, I was the same way with my mom. I would follow her around the kitchen every night. She says those moments are the ones she thinks about the most now!
Montessori pedagogy is big on teaching very young children to be very independent in the kitchen. It is amazing! Keep it up!
Too cute! What a great helper 🙂
What a little sweet heart! So nice you get her involved!
Oh my goodness, this is the sweetest thing I have ever read! I hope she keeps her enthusiasm for her entire life 🙂
I’m really looking forward to doing things like that with my daughter too. Kids are so hilarious and sweet because they’re so enthusiastic about things—I love it!
this post is just the sweetest. i have fond memories of being in the kitchen when i was little – maybe that’s why i love eating and cooking so much. i used to love watching (and somewhat helping) my mom make dinner, but even more than that, i LOVED going over to my grandma’s house to bake cookies and other treats. i know liv will cherish these memories as she grows older, too! <3
What a cutie pie!! That is so great that she loves food! Keep on cooking, liv! 🙂
So cute! Have you ever considered getting her a Learning Tower or something similar? We had one in the classroom when I worked with 2- and 3-year-olds at a Montessori school, and it was so useful when the kids were working at the counter to do crafts or to help with cooking/baking. Here’s a link to the brand we had: http://www.littlepartners.com/the-learning-tower/
This is the sweetest post.
I LOVE that! Can’t wait until I can do these things with my little girl, but like you said, I’m totally enjoying the present 🙂
Liv is flipping adorable! I have memories of cooking on a chair with my mom (she was big on baking cookies), and we even have a pic where I’m on one side of my mom with a measuring cup of something, and my sister is on the other side with a cup of something, both of us standing on chairs. I want to frame that picture so bad.
I also remember my first roller coaster ride. THe theme park isn’t there anymore (sad panda), but the memories are clear as day. I hope to share these things with my children one day. But first, I’ve got to have some. 😉
so so cute! I can’t believe how fast she’s growing up, must be so nice to be able to cherish these moments together! 🙂
She is such a sweetie pie. I hope we get to meet her sooner than later!
Raffi unloads the dishwasher now. I take out all the knives and super breakable items and then I have him unload the rest one by one. It’s particularly useful on rainy days when we have a lot of time to kill.
Also, he is decidedly NOT my food soulmate. He is still a vegetarian (although he’ll sometimes eat chicken) and while he loves cooking, he isn’t so into eating anything but green veggies or crackERS.
ok that’s not true. He’ll eat lots of foods but he’s eating more for nourishment and not really for taste. I can’t wait until he really TASTES his food, you know?
Ah, so cute! As a previous poster mentioned, i have the Learning Tower step stool and it is AMAZING, i bet you would love it cuz Liv would be safe and you could navigate around the kitchen more, i highly recommend it too!
Can’t wait to try her first recipe:)
Absolutely adorable! I remember I loved helping my mom out in the kitchen. If I have kids one day, I’m sure that will be a time that I cherish!
That is so cute! I love cooking and baking with my 2 year old niece. It is so much fun! Love how she thinks washing the dishes is fun! One day she will groan and roll her eyes when you ask her to load the dishwasher!
I wrote a post about cooking with my toddler. It’s pretty much the best thing ever 🙂 We have so much fun! Here are some of my tips: http://culinarybliss.blogspot.com/2013/05/toddlers-in-kitchen-room-update-and.html
So fun! I love the “yeahs!” An affirming little sous chef you have there!
That is so cute! I love the “yeahs” 🙂
Some of my fondest memories are of my mom and I in the kitchen. She shared her love of baking with me and now it’s one of my favorite things to do. A neat gift my friend gave me was a recipe scrapbook of all our favorite recipes and pictures of us in the kitchen. I loved it! Maybe you could do the same with Liv!
So precious! Its so fun to have a little helper!
Tripp just started cooking with me! when I ask if he wants to help me cook, he will drop anything he’s doing and run toward the kitchen saying “help! Help! Help!” and climb into his learning tower. I die.
I am not even pregnant (or really thinking about it) but I LOVE little kids in the kitchen and already am looking forward to cooking with my kids 🙂
I have a 10 year old stepson who has zero interest in cooking or in eating for that matter. Love him to death, and we have certain activities we love to do together, but I just had a baby girl last month and I am SO looking forward to all of the mother-daughter activities we can share together. Cooking, playing dress-up, and hopefully running. Would be amazing to have a running buddy someday! So far she loves to be out and about with mama so my fingers are crossed!
she is SO cute and your hair looks awesome. The “Beans! yeah!” killed me.
This is so, so adorable! Her hair is getting so long!
I love my mama, but I didn’t get to do any cooking with her in the kitchen. I think it’s *super duper rad* that you give Liv little duties while you cook and bake.
That’s good parenting right there.
thank you, friend 🙂
Love it! Y’all need a show on the Food Network. The title of your post is perfect for it…Cooking with Livi 🙂
How adorable!!!! 🙂 It looks like so much fun to have a little helper in the kitchen!
This is the cutest thing I have read all weekend. So great! <3