The Evolution of a Chef

I'm sharing this picture because I love his facial expression!  He is quite an expressive little man and I realized that I haven't been capturing enough of his faces lately.  He makes us laugh a lot because of these faces!

I also realized that I haven't posted anything about Caleb's love - nay, obsession - with utensils and pots and pans.  So let me begin....

THE EVOLUTION OF A CHEF

It began with a simple plastic spoon when he was eight months old.  He sucked on it, played with it, and held onto it with a death grip.  We soon learned the importance of having a spoon on hand at all times because it was not only his favorite toy but also a comforting item as well.  I carried a spoon in the diaper bag and my own bag, and we also had multiple spoons in the car.  We didn't go anywhere without one or two or more!  We also discovered that having a cup with the spoon was an added bonus.  Caleb loved to stir and tap the spoon in the cup, over and over and over again.

Eventually he advanced to a wooden spoon.  With that came the realization that he could stir and tap with bigger things, like tupperware.  Oh, the delights!  

Even though the wooden spoon had become his spoon of choice, plastic spoons were still an acceptable offering, particularly if more than one was available.

And he stirred his imaginary soup in those cups and bowls like a mad chef!

Even when he wasn't cooking, Caleb took that spoon nearly everywhere he went, planning and concocting his next world-changing recipe.

Then one day I offered him not just a mixing bowl or a piece of tupperware to stir in, but a genuine cooking pan.  His life was forever changed.  Our lives have forever changed as well :)

He could not be stopped.  I made vain attempts to keep him out of the Lazy Susan in a wasted effort to avoid cleaning every single pot and pan that we own.  It did not work.  The baby chef had a crazed look in his eye and was determined to get his hands on every single cooking apparatus he could reach.  And since I was tired of standing guard at the Lazy Susan (and since we hadn't put child-safety locks on that particular door yet), I gave in one day.  His life was forever changed.  Our lives have forever changed as well :)

Everywhere we go, if there are pots and pans to be found, he wants them.  And he focuses rather intently on stirring up a new creation each time.  He'll cook morning and night, with or without clothes on :)

He loves to cook at Grandma and Grandpa Horn's trailer too.  Anyone, anywhere, who'll help him in his endeavor to find the best recipe in the world is his favorite person at the time!

And still that wooden spoon...  Everywhere. We. Go.  He's napped with it and bathed with it.  We take it to the park, the grocery store, the zoo.  Trying to take it out of his hand is nearly impossible unless he chooses to let it go himself.  Caleb knows the word "switch" because of that spoon.  While putting on his shirt, I'll get one arm through an armhole and then say, "switch", at which point he promptly switches the spoon to other hand so I can get the other arm into his shirt.  The same goes for getting his arms through the straps of his car seat.  "Switch!"  And he instantly switches hands, but does not put the spoon down.  Sometimes I wonder if we're enabling an unhealthy habit :)

The love and obsession has only grown deeper.  Recently I had to sacrifice more utensils to the cause.  First it was the ladle, then the spatulas, even the potato masher.  Currently he's back on the spatula craze.  This past week, however, it was the 1/4 Cup measuring cup.  When I took it from him to measure the milk for our macaroni and cheese, it was as if the world had come to a sudden and unmerciful end.  There was no pacifying him until that cup was back in his hand, and then the tears instantly stopped.  

This past week he also decided it was time to drag every single pot and pan out onto the deck, one by one.  Why cook inside when you can cook outside?  Our entire pot and pan collection was scattered around the deck, with various utensils strewn about as well.  And he was madly stirring away, ever so focused.

This is his obsession.  But I suppose there could be worse obsessions.  People ask if I cook a lot, because where else would he get this inclination?  I laugh because I hate to cook and rarely do.  I have no idea how he became so interested in this hobby.  But one thing is for sure: if he becomes a master chef someday, we'll know why :)