Not to brag, but I’m pretty sure T-Money aka Baby Runner/Mini-Cook is a natural born culinary genius. Ok, like most Mothers I am exaggerating just a little, but I am really surprised and proud of his cooking skills. Namely, he didn’t thrown anything in the batter and actually stood on his stool throughout the whole process and was even a bit sad when it was over.

This morning we made Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread- both a nod to my Grandmother and an easy thing to take to a potluck 1st birthday party, and an easy thing to freeze in case someone oversleeps and we miss the party.

Mini-Cook has always been fascinated by things that make noise, especially in the kitchen, so when he heard the food processor start up, he ran in like a flash! He was very good at pushing the button to make it stop and go and stop and go and stop and go. He likes pushing buttons- a lot. When it came time to beat the eggs, he helped with that too. He watched me crack two eggs and then helped with the third by throwing it into the bowl- unconventional but effective!

Egg is one of the 5 or so words he clearly says- along with more, Dada, Duduh (for Duggee, his favorite cartoon), Mama, up, and his personal favorite- buh-bye. His buh-byes actually vary in tone depending on whether he wants to go, is actually going or wants you to go- sometimes there is a wave and a kiss, other times just a stare and an increasingly insistent bye.

He helped the mixing process by operating the stand mixer and also supervised the filling of loaf pans. For a 17 month old, he did pretty well as you can tell by the look of concentration on his face!

It was also really fun for me watching him participate in something I love. He was curious and helpful but most of all he enjoyed it so it won’t be the last weekend cooking project we undertake together! We haven’t tasted the finished product yet, but no matter what it tastes like, we’ll definitely be back in the kitchen together soon!