Helping Hands

I *love* this phase! Miriam wants to help with everything. She has for a long while, but she's also lacked the coordination for some tasks, so I've waited patiently while she "helps," then tried to surreptitiously re-do or do whatever needed getting done.

But she's rounded a bend. Tonight, for the third or fourth time, she helped me fold sheets. She takes the ends, folds them, walks her end to me and dances back, until the sheets are perfectly folded. An exhausted Robert never had to get off the sofa. She enjoyed this so much that we folded napkins together next -- a task I hate -- and since she couldn't quite manage it standing, she laid the napkins on an ottoman to match up the ends. Perfectly folded napkins, which she insisted we use tonight for dinner, and of course we did.

On Tuesday I came home from the gym to find her making pancakes with her dad. Not just cracking eggs and stirring, but making pancakes. She sets the table, picks up dropped items, fetches things, wow, she's earning her keep! And she's so quietly proud of herself and enthusiastic, I hope this isn't one of those two-week phases...