Beyond the call of duty

Abby likes to help. A lot. So while I get dinner ready, she likes to set the table for me, using absolutely every plastic plate and bowl she can find in her Abby safe cabinet (the one full of things without sharp edges). She's been watching for a while to figure out where the shiny spoons come from, and recently found the drawer with all of "Abby's forks" and "Cabey's spoons" in them, so now her stuffed animals have a full place setting.

My favorite part of the whole process is when she straps a stuffed animal into her booster seat or Caleb's high chair, positions a bowl, cup and assortment of spoons in front of it, then grabs a paw, closes her eyes and says "Thank you God, for food. Amen," before pretending to feed it dinner.

For the most part, I don't mind the over-the-top table setting. It keeps her occupied and away from the stove during food preparation, and eliminates the hunger-induced meltdowns where she wanders around the house whining "dinnertime, dinnertime" until someone feeds her. I have to watch her like a hawk though. She doesn't quite understand the concept of clean and dirty dishes, so she tends to put all of her used cutlery and plates back where she found them when she's done. I've tried explaining that they're dirty, but that just lands them in the trash can. We'll keep working on after-dinner clean-up protocol.