Mommy's Little Helper

Warning: Anyone who is darn sick of hearing how cute and wonderful Athena is... stop reading now. You have been warned.

Athena has entered the "helper" stage. She is so fascinated by what we are doing that she wants to do it too. And here is the cool part... some of it is the stuff we don't even like to do! But she loves it and makes it actually fun! For instance:

The Laundry: Oh, yay. We get to fold the laundry! This ritual occurs pretty much every Sunday night without fail. During the day, Chris does the laundry and piles it on the bed. Then we tackle folding it all after dinner Sunday night. Hey, what can I say? Some people go to church... we fold underwear.

Anyway, Athena LOVES sheets. When Chris and I pull out a sheet to fold, she squeals and runs to help us. Of course, in this case, her help comes in the form of running under the sheet as we fold it, then grabbing it and drooling on it. But let's face it... how long has it been since YOU were delighted by laundry? That's what I thought...

The Dishes: Now, although we affectionately refer to Athena as our "little Amazon princess," she is not actually tall enough to DO the dishes. However, if you need to empty the dishwasher (bottom rack only, of course) she is your girl!

As soon as I open the washer, she comes running to assist me. She hands me each plate and each bowl one by one very carefully. Then I put it in the cabinet. And this activity makes her SO PROUD. I must say that even putting away dishes has become kind of fun.

Of course, I've read all those child development books, and I know that this is just a phase. It's kind of like when you first learn to write your name and you want to do it ALL THE TIME... but then one day you learn that writing your name just seems to get you further and further into debt and it ain't so cool anymore. Just like that, Athena will one day realize that dishes and laundry are, in fact, no fun at all, and she will cross her arms and shake her head and refuse to be any help whatsoever. But until that day, I am going to enjoy having a little help around the house.