Eleanor in the Kitchen and Around the House

A few weeks ago I pulled a chair into the kitchen, put Ellie on it, and let her help me make cookies.  She's been obsessed ever since.  Nearly every morning the past week or so she pulls a chair in and up to the sink and wants to help wash dishes.  It's cute, but sometimes frustrating when she really needs to eat. In each of the following pictures she pulled the chair in and got up all by herself (and twice without my knowledge).

She loves to help with dishes by filling up and dumping out water from various containers

She also has developed a particular love for her monkey leash.  the other day she wanted it to eat breakfast with her (which included, ironically enough, a banana).

The monkey gets more kisses than either Ben or I!

She loves to color with pencils and crayons, and is pretty good about coloring only on paper.  But I have been very wary of giving her markers for obvious reasons.  But this morning she found the spare high chair in her room  (it had been pulled out for some friends that came over to dinner) and pulled it into the office and wanted to sit in it to color.  I figured she was trapped in so markers were safe.  She loved it.  Mostly she loved trying to put the lids back on and then picking a different color.

And as if you couldn't get enough monkey business, here's a little video: