Our Little "Helper"

I have always wanted my children to be well rounded. So they can do sports and theatre, or mow the lawn and change a baby's diaper. Santiago from the beginning has been interested in all the "boy" stuff: cars, trucks, balls, climbing, and wrestling. So the past few weeks I have wanted to introduce him to other more calm and helpful activities. Oh boy! He is a real boy. Here are some pics of one of his favorite things to climb on. I tried to take several pictures of him one morning. I did not get any of him standing and bouncing on it though. He also enjoys climbing on the couch, toy chest, end tables (we had to put those away), and his newest trick our kitchen chairs. He is so proud of himself when he gets on top of things. It is hard to not laugh and take a picture instead of getting him down.

So in trying to round out my kid:

First I tried to show him how to lay a baby down on a pillow and put a blanket on it. (We used a stuff animal- maybe that was the problem). Instead of helping cover the baby and put it on a pillow he sat on it. Not on the pillow, the BABY! Then he smiled and laughed. Oh gosh I fear for our unborn's life. ;)

Then we bought a little kitchen at a yard sale. I thought, "Great I can teach him how to stir things and cook then and wash dishes." He was more interested in taking out the sink, climbing on the shelves and pushing back the doors to see if they would break.

When I am working on the real dishes in the kitchen he enjoys climbing in my dishwasher and pulling out all the dirty dishes. He does help put away the clean lids in "his" lid drawer but that only keeps him occupied for a short time.

Finally we worked on laundry together. Success! He loves putting the laundry from the washer to the dryer and putting in the dryer sheet. He loves putting the dirty clothes in the washer and pouring the soap in.

Any ideas for how to have him help with the clean laundry? I tried letting him fold the towels but he would rather climb in a out of the basket and drag the clean clothes around the house or knock over my piles. So helpful! I love my little guy!