So Proud.

I had no choice but to come out of my dream as he bounded onto my bed. His face came right up next to mine and we shared our morning breath.

“Mom, I want to make the cinnamon rolls! I just need you to tell me how to turn on the oven!”

“Son, can I wake up first?”

“No Mom, just tell me how!”

I proceeded to try to explain to him, but it’s one of those things where you have to be in front of it to know exactly what to do and which buttons to push in which order, especially when just woken up 25 seconds ago. He accepted that I would have to get up and help him turn it on, which I barely did.

After I crawled back under the covers he did everything himself. Opened the can. Put the cinnamon rolls on a pan and placed them in the oven. He set the timer on the microwave and took them out when they were done. He let them cool a bit and then he iced them. He made cinnamon rolls.

He was so proud.

 

A couple of weeks later he insisted we make chocolate chip cookies. He also demanded that he complete the majority of the process himself. I helped him with some measuring and pouring and egg cracking but otherwise he did most of the mixing, etc. And I am not going to lie, they were some of the best cookies I he has ever made! 😉

 

Fast forward a few more weeks and my parents were here for a visit. The figs on the neighbor’s tree were ripe enough to pick and since my father likes them, we decided to go get some. Our neighbor has always said the fruit of his trees are up for grabs so we put as many as we could in a bowl, as sweat dripped down our backs.

Back inside, Gavin insisted we bake something with our bounty. I sort of scoffed at him but he quickly figured out how to look up a recipe on my Pinterest app and the next thing I knew, we were mixing flour, grating cold butter and creating fig scones. The kids is nothing if not persistent.

The following morning we ventured out to the local farmer’s market that is around the corner from our neighborhood. My father bought a bushel of peaches that were sweet and juicy and before we could even all get back in the house, Gavin was locating a peach dessert recipe. He settled on one for “peach crumble bars” and even though we had to help him a little, those things were baked before I could say, “We’re doing what?”

 

The fact that this child took the initiative to do all these things is quite remarkable. There was a time when he would have never done these types of things. However, in the last few months he has really started to come into his own. Plus, he has always been one to speak up for what he wants, so that part is not a problem for him. However, his sheer determination is what really impressed me about these baking endeavors.

I love it when our kids surprise us. I love it even more when they start to find themselves and realize their own abilities. I am so, so proud of him.

And, he is now the resident pastry chef. He better watch out or I am going to make him bake for me all the time. Which actually, I think we’d both be just fine with.