Blueberry Patch: Ava's Chitchen

Well, Ava's Christmas wasn't over when we returned home from Mt. Carmel. Last week Jake's parents and two of his sisters came to visit. I know this is surprising, but they came bearing gifts. :)

Ava's big gift from her Meme and Grandpa Lindley was her new kitchen. Or as she says, her "chitchen". She absolutely loves it. She started playing with it immediately, and has played with it every single day since then. It is so funny to watch her do things in her pretend kitchen that she must see me do all the time. I didn't even realize that I do some quirky things until I saw her imitating me in her own space.

She "washes" her hands in the pretend sink after almost everything she does. Which I guess I do too. After she pretends to get soap, she pretends to lather up under the water, then (this is my favorite part), she shakes her hands to get off the water. I love it.

She loves to put things in the oven to bake. Every time she opens the oven to check on it she announces, "Hot!!" in a very alarmed voice, just like I do to keep her clear of it when I'm checking on dinner. Then (another one of my favorites), she'll open the lid to the pot in the oven, and then say "Nope!" (meaning that her food isn't done yet). Which again, I must do all the time without even realizing it.

We got her some Melissa and Doug wooden food that you can cut, and she loves loves loves to pretend to cut the food. We have kind of a routine at home where when I'm chopping things for dinner, she sits on the counter next to me watching. Then she will get to sample little bites of what I've chopped, usually as she's triumphantly announcing what kind of vegetable it is ("broccoli!" or "carrots!").

Here is Ava after she first saw the kitchen:

Ava's Aunt Andrea got her these adorable little cupcakes. She loves to bake them, put them on a plate, and deliver one to everyone in the room. If she has any leftover, she'll serve them to the cats or her dolls. Here she's wearing her new little apron.