Thursday Gourmet Chef Blogging 122310

I foolishly neglected to get an Appa picture this morning, but I wouldn't want to deprive you of your cute toddler fix for the week. And, of course, it's important to get at least one picture of SteelyKid playing with her spiffy new kitchen out:

We gave this to her last night, and it was a huge hit. It's got a stove burner that lights up and makes noise when you put a pot or pan on it, an oven, a sink, a fridge, and a cordless phone. And a bunch of fake food.

We had hoped to reveal this to her at the same time as the refinished basement (where it will be living permanently), but alas, the walls needed another coat of paint, so it's not quite ready for prime time. We set it up temporarily in the library, which in principle offered the ability to let her show it off to Grammy via Skype, but the Internet hates us, so Skype was down last night.

It was an immediate hit, though slightly subdued by the cold she's fighting. Still, she took to cooking immediately, and served us a variety of interesting dishes: chili powder and black pepper tea, lettuce light seared then finished in the oven, boiled apples with ginger, and chocolate dishes out in salt and pepper shakers (with stern orders to "Use spoon!"). OK, she's not so good with the reading, yet...

Anyway, it was a huge hit, and the cause of a little crying this morning when we had to pry her off it to go to day care so we could pack up the rest of the house. I have video, too, but that will take ages to edit down and upload, so you'll have to make do with a still photo for now.

We're off this afternoon to my parents' for the annual Polish Christmas Eve wing-ding. Blogging will be nonexistent for the next few days. Enjoy the holiday, those who celebrate it, and I hope you get something that makes you as happy as the kitchen made SteelyKid.