Chef Peter

I've mentioned before that Peter is at a funny age. I've had a few different friends even mention to me that he's just not quite himself these days, and I know I'm to blame. These have been long summer days, and the kids rarely get a break from one another.

For a while Peter has been talking about how he wants to be a chef when he grows up. Today at the pool, he mentioned it again.

"I want to be a grown up now!"
"Why don't you like being a kid?"
"Because I just want to be a chef right now."
"You can start being a chef when you're a kid, you know."

 I could see the wheels in his head immediately start turning. He told me he wanted to make dinner tonight, and I happily went along. Paul's been out of town all week, so my fare has been far from chef quality...lots of frozen pizzas and fish sticks.

I was impressed with his dinner that he came up with. He invented BBQ chicken tacos with corn tortillas...

 ...used fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from our garden to make a salad...

 ...and cut up watermelon (with a butter knife) for the fruit. He even garnished it with mint leaves!

 He kept asking me to check the chicken to see if it was done. He let me know as soon as he noticed it was white and no longer pink.

Peter wanted to set the table too. He was so proud of himself, and kept saying "This is my first time being a chef, and I'm already really good at it!"

I need to be better at giving him ownership. I noticed the other day that basement cleaning time was getting out of hand, with Peter in the middle of all the kicking and screaming. When I suggested that everyone else go upstairs and that Peter finish the job on his own, there was some initial resistance on Peter's part, but he ended up finishing it in minutes. And when it was done he wanted to show me every detail of the spotless basement. He is a good boy. I just need to give him more opportunities to just be him.