Help from a 2 year Old

Here is a short list of some of the ways Ethan helps me.  He is getting to be such a good helper.  There are many times when I see him taking care of his sissy, and helping me out with out being asked.  That blesses my heart!  Some of these things require my assistance or watchfulness, but for the most part Ethan has caught on to what he can do with mommy and what he is not allowed to do without me.

1. Lotioning mommy's feet.--This is the newest thing which I am thrilled over.  He just started  this yesterday, and I have to say we both enjoyed the experience!  The more I "oohed and ahed" the more he laughed and rubbed.  He did a really great job!  It felt wonderful!

2. Cleaning the kitchen floor.  Ethan has learned to wipe up the kitchen floor.  He helps me throw away all of sissy's big crumbs.  This is something that I definitely want to work on more with him!

 3. Cleaning up drips.  When one of the "supposedly" spill proof cups drips on the carpet Ethan is my "go to" guy. He runs and gets the kitchen towel and puts it down on the carpet and then steps on it to soak it up.--He learned this one on his own.  I guess he's seen me do it enough times!

4. Putting dishes away and unloading the dishwasher.  Believe it or not Ethan does help put away dishes.  There is a cupboard that has all the pans in it, and he puts away all my cutting boards and pans.  There is only one way they fit in there so that helps him.  And yes, I let him unload the dishwasher by putting the dishes on the counter for me.  (Note: He knows he is not allowed to handle glass cups and breakable plates.)

5. Unloading the dryer.  Ethan has done this for a long time.  He takes arm fulls of clean laundry and brings them out to the living room and dumps them on the couch for me.  He tries to help fold, but that just doesn't end up the way I like it :)

6. Throwing trash away.  This is something Ethan has always LOVED to do.  I love being able to count on him to throw away dirty diapers, crumbs, leftovers on dirty dishes, and so-on.  He is pretty observant so he doesn't usually do a sloppy job.

 7. Wiping his face and hands.  Many times this still needs my assistance.  He started this a couple months ago.  He got up from the table, and grabbed the hand towel off of the stove and started wiping his face.  Now a hand towel is not what I use to clean him up, but he improvised and I decided that if he is going to clean himself up than I don't mind doing a little extra laundry with the towels.    

Ethan has always been extremely independent, and that willfulness has been something we have really had to discipline and curve.  Now that he has started to understand that fact I really want to use that independent spirit for good.  Having him help and learn how to do things himself is one of the ways I try to do that.  After all, the sooner he learns how to help with all of the chores the bigger a help he is at home!   It is fun to make a big deal out of his help, and the teacher inside of me enjoys teaching him how he can be a help!  Not everything has to be a chore :)