Teaching him early...

Mason is such a big help around the house! He loves to learn all about the things that I do, and then he wants to do them himself!

Laundary is a never ending task, as I'm sure most of you will agree! It is much better when you have a little helper, though! As soon as I start filling the washing machine, Mason gets sooo excited, and just has to watch the water fill it up, and open and close the lid a few times. When it is time to fold the clothes, he is always there to help, as well. Often, I'll be bringing a pile of laundary upstairs, and I'll come down to see that he has started bringing a couple things up the stairs, too! :) These pictures were actually taken quite a few months ago, but they fit so well with this subject, so I put them in.

Mason does such a thorough job of making sure that we didn't miss anything, he always wants to get into the hamper to check!! (this picture is just a couple weeks ago).

Another way that Mason helps is to make sure that he doesn't get any cavities! This is very helpful, since new teeth have been appearing weekly lately...I think his total count is up to 15 now! :)

I would have to say that Mason's favorite task would be stirring things. Each and everytime that he sees me at the stove, he has to get up and watch. He's never happier than when I give him his own spoon and let him help stir. He enjoys this so much, that he practices this skill every chance that he gets, using clean pots and utensils, and toys or clothes that he has access to.

Here he is stirring around his magnetic cow...isn't he so smart to choose something that could actually be food if it were real?

Our little boy is very strong and never hesitates to help move boxes that don't belong in the kitchen. I see a future for him in helping the Elder's Quorum move people in and out! :)

Whenever I fill the sink to wash dishes, Mason loves to see the bubbles that result. I started skimming the bubbles off of the top and letting him play with them on the ground, while I actually cleaned the dishes. Soon, he decided to start cleaning other areas of the house, and toddled into the living room and started scrubbing the piano bench. :)

I have soon learned that it's best to keep Mason out of the kitchen while I'm trying to sweep and mop the floor. This is kind of hard, so I've resorted to just strapping him into his chair and letting him watch me. Of course, as soon as he sees what I'm doing, he wants to help. It's our tradition that when I'm done with the broom, he gets to use it to sweep to his heart's content. :)