Toys in the Kitchen!

I don't know if you let your kids bring their toys all over the house. In our home, we created a playroom for the girls to hopefully open up a bigger area of play, limit the noise level in our home, and hopefully lessen the mess in the rest of the home. HOWEVER, we DO allow toys in the KITCHEN!!!

Annalise has always loved to help mommy cook. Once she was old enough to assist me in the kitchen, I have tried to include her in much of my cooking. When she isn't helping me, she has always enjoyed playing with her play kitchen. And since Allison was old enough to eat food, she has screamed every night around 5:30PM for food. The absolute worst position for me to be in at that point is in front of the stove. Do you know how hard it is to cook with a screaming child clung to your pant legs?

Well, we now have 2 kitchen sets for the girls to pretend play with. And they have more plastic play food than you could imagine! Now that Allison is a little older and can reach the tops of the toy stoves, she and Annalise play "restaurant" while I cook. Yesterday, Annalise dressed up Allison to be the chef. I couldn't resist these pictures. Unfortunately, they were taken with my cell phone because Aunt Cassie borrowed my camera to show off her daughter's new skill. It might be a cell phone, but it captures every bit of cute in this kid!!!

Hi, I'm Chef Allison!

Mmm! Green peas and lemon on the stove top! Bon Apetit!
Now a chef must eat! Corn of the cob should always be grabbed like an apple! Yummy!!!

Toys in the kitchen...SUPERB idea! Just watch your step!