Evan has begged me to cook in the kitchen for some time. You might remember this:
I told him (this note was from about a year ago,) that come his 6th birthday he could have a chance to cook in the kitchen. A cooking party it would be.
But a cooking party takes a lot of planning. There were chef hats to buy, utensils, and lots of ingredients. Not to mention- cookbooks to make! This was the table the night before, when Evan slowly moved his way into the kitchen to see what I was doing.
The anticipation was too much. He started off lying with his pillow at the foot of the bed and listening... then before I knew it he had his comforter and pillow on the floor at the foot of his bed... then in the hall... with a square tub for a bedside table. (He needed somewhere to put his cup of water, naturally.)
I had to be so "on it" the night before with prepping ingredients and such that I over-organized and found myself with time on my hands... taking pictures of random things. Like this one, of his presents from us.
He recently watched Superman when it came on tv (a newer one) and was way impressed. He did, however, remind me that this was a Ratatouille party when he saw the Superman paper. (Forgive me for diverging from the theme.)
This is Charlie after his bath that night, wondering why I am standing on the kitchen counter taking pictures...
and whether or not he would be able to catch me if I were to fall. (He would not.)
This is proof that the top of my fridge is not getting dusted. Oh, and these people are the employees at my printing company. Sigh, we're like family...
These are light bulbs that burn too short and cost too much...
This is why there are light bulbs on the counter. Part of Shaun's checklist, not mine... so let's move on.
This is the cookbook Evan designed for his party. He is cooking with his chef hat on at the stove and he tore out notebook paper and taped it on the front to indicate who each book belonged to.
I meant to change the egg amount to more before having him write this, and the cheese, but I didn't.
Did they follow the recipes anyway? No. So did it matter? No. Can you really mess up cheese and noodles and butter? No. Do 6 year olds do major improvising on their recipes? YES.
This is the next morning, what Evan came out to when he declared "my party is going to be just perfect!"
Madalyn came out of her room that morning, holding her blankie, and sang, "Good morning, birthday boy."
We always put on their first year or birth video while people are arriving. Reminds us what we are celebrating.
This is my cake that was tilting like the leaning tower of Pisa.
This is where they were to decorate their aprons and chef hats while waiting for their masterpieces to cook.
This is Evan's goofy six year old smile.
This is Jacob's.
This is Ethan's.
This is Corbin's.
This is not a goofy smile.
This is three generations.
These are the aprons my mother-in-law gave us last Christmas.
This is Jennifer and Jacob making the yogurt parfait.
It was a dark, rainy day and actually really nice that way. It kind of set the mood. Shaun found French Bistro music for me. It was cozy and surprisingly peaceful.
Decorating their aprons while...
the food cooked. They made the macaroni on the bottom shelf there, but the tomato tarts I made ahead of time. They are super yummy- my mom's recipe. You just use a Pillsbury, ready-made pie crust and top it with mozzarella, fresh torn basil, fresh sliced tomatoes (I used Plum tomatoes,) and then a touch more basil, drizzle with olive oil, and bake for about 20 minutes at whatever the crust bakes at- or maybe 400, 425. There's not an exact recipe, I'm sorry. That's just how it is.
I'm also sorry I forgot to take any pictures of the bread or macaroni when finished. Here is the parfait, though.
Then, it was onto the cake decorating.
That is Jack's chubby arm helping. Don't think he would miss out, although I'm not sure if he's adding candy, or taking it off.
Did you just throw up a little in your mouth? Your gag reflux get the best of you? It's okay. It's admittedly pretty bad in the way of sugar shock (and color shock.) And see that dark spot, that is where Jack started eating the cake and the older kids tried to patch it up with M&M's.
I wonder why daddy had to have a root canal this week?
Evan being shy while we sang.
He is outgrowing his baby teeth. Boo hoo!
They got to take home their aprons and hats and measuring cups/spoons and whisks to play with outside or in the tub. It was a fun day. And our bathtub has A LOT of cooking utensils in it now.
The fun didn't end with the party. The next day, daddy took Evan to a Chef Mickey dinner at Disney at the Contemporary Resort with Ethan and Mr. Wattles. (Even with a major toothache, in need of a triple root canal, daddy took him.) Now that's love.
He got to play in the cool pool with the slide, too.
And then, as if that wasn't enough, we went to my cousin's wedding this weekend where one of the family members was a real chef and I introduced them.
Very fitting that this is what he was doing when I brought her to the table to meet him. She found it interesting how he was keeping his food sorted by types after he chopped it. Who would've thought that the kid once scared of the texture of cake and macaroni and cheese would turn chef one day? Just goes to show life is entirely unpredictable.
Keep cooking, Little Chef, and if we're all lucky, one day you can cook for us.
