Most kids choose a stuffed animal....

Mine chooses my giant pink sparkly comb, a plastic cup, or daddy's wedding ring....

This is just a small list of things I have found cuddled up next to my two year old when I get him in the morning. See, my hubby puts him to bed each night, and every once in awhile I will hear a wail right about the time Cole should be laying his head down to sleep. Come to find out the source of that wail is because he wanted to bring something to bed with him that Kyle said "no" too. Like his wedding ring....

The best was when Kyle came down and said that Cole had a stack of his sippy cups tucked closely under one arm and the lids under the other....both to which he fell fast asleep with.

Ah, to know what my boy is thinking.

It's these quirky little things that I want to remember for the rest of my life...perhaps someday he can shed some light onto the choosing of his bedtime buddies. Until then I will continue to store them in my mommy heart and allow them out when I need a good chuckle or a slight pick-me-up for a hard day.

Another memory that I hope becomes more and more of an occurrence is this...

As I'm sure you all know I LOVE to cook, and lately I have been pulling up a stool and letting my boy get in on the action. I try to find things that involve lots of mixing and stirring and that won't hurt if he...um...well decides to taste test. After all, isn't that what they tell you to do on the Iron Chef?

I have to let go of the notion that my kitchen will not get messy....it usually ends up looking like a bomb went off...to which my husband would probably say doesn't look all that different when it's just myself in the kitchen. I'm known for creating amazing messes...usually do to my clumsiness or forgetting that the mixer is on high speed when I turn it on.  And I like to use bowls....lots and lots of bowls.

So in order to keep the chaos down to a somewhat reasonable amount I chose to put Cole's culinary abilities to use on one-bowl recipes.

Like this one. Here's to my next little Iron Chef in the making....

Photo Credits: Green Lite Bites

Banana Oatmeal Cups. These were awesome! Kind of like baked oatmeal in a muffin form, perfect for little hands to both make and stuff in their mouths. And great for a quick and easy energy boosting snack for a nursing mom. Cole loved making them and followed directions pretty well....until I turned my back for two seconds and saw him stuff a spoonful into his mouth with lightening speed! I freaked out for a a quick moments due to there being raw egg in the batter, but then I thought back to the bowls of cookie dough I consumed as a kid and remembered, I had made it out alive. 

And guess what? So did Cole. He not only lived through the experience but you should have seen his eyes glow every time I asked him if he wanted an oatmeal muffin that he made! I look forward to many more culinary adventures with both my little guys....

But most of all, I look forward to seeing what I will find in Cole's crib in the morning!

Check out the recipe here: Green Lite Bites