I have never been good with dirty, sticky things. I remember I once said that exact sentence to a friend and she said, “Well, good luck with kids.” At the time I think my reply was, “well, I just won’t LET my kids get dirty or sticky.” I must have been a know-it-all teenager when I said that. After four years of parenting I know that kids are dirty sticky magnets.
And yet. There is something inside me that freaks out when Annie gets sticky. I don’t know what it is. I just can’t stand it. And Annie is SO MESSY. She can’t just eat. She has to spread her food EVERYWHERE. Her hands, clothes, body, face, hair. A meal isn’t complete until it has been smeared on everything within arms length. I have to do deep breathing exercises with every meal.
I really wanted to make sugar cookies with Annie. BUT IT WOULD BE SO STICKY. It would be so fun! BUT SO STICKY. I had this internal debate about it for days. And, finally, I listened to the smaller voice. I made cookies for Annabel and me to decorate, stickiness be damned. WHO AM I?!
I made about 20 sugar cookies and frosted them. Then I put a few different sprinkle toppings in small dishes. I put the cookies and toppings on Annie’s table and we got to work.
She was a little hesitant at first. I had to show her exactly what to do, and then over-the-top encourage her that it was OK to pick up and drop sprinkles on cookies. At first she copied me exactly – she reached for the same sprinkle color and put it on the same cookie. But eventually she branched out, and it was so fun to watch.
Before long, we were both decorating our own cookies.
Rigby REALLY wanted to get in on the action. It’s too bad she doesn’t have the coordination.
These two pictures just freak me out:
SAME FACE!
Eventually…this started happening:
It was inevitable, right? I couldn’t make the cookies without eating the dough, so there was no way she was going to decorate without tasting the sugar.
When I saw her sticky crystals-and-jimmies-covered-fingers, I did my best to ignore them. We were having fun! Stopping to wash our hands obsessively was only going to give one of us a complex (one of us OBVIOUSLY already has one).
I have really never seen such beautiful cookies. OK that’s a lie, those are not cute.
Other than the occasional sprinkle-taste, Annie showed NO interest in tasting the cookies until I asked her if she wanted one. And even then…she still went for the good stuff.
When we were just about done, Annie looked at me and said, “Cookies fun, mama!” and in that moment, I forgot about the fact that she’d just rubbed sprinkles in her hair and knocked a bowl of jimmies onto the floor. We’d had fun. SHE’D had fun. That was what I wanted – that smile.
Then I practically threw her into the bathtub.
I’m giving away $250…anyone can enter!!
NoL says:
Love the whole activity; and those aprons are super-cute. Wishing you a great holiday!
Randi says:
It’s official. I need matching aprons for me and my kids. You guys look adorable together! Haha. I’m glad she had fun!
Sue says:
Oh; I think Annie’s cookies are more than “cute”; they are true masterpieces!!! What a wonderful memory maker!!
Tracey says:
Yes kids are sticky gooey magnets – but you are making memories for her that will last a whole lifetime for her. Mine still talk about the times when they were 3 and 5 and made cookies with me, and they are teenagers now. I love how you are documenting her life – and you have pictures of yourself with her – these will mean so much to her down the road. Great job on so many levels!
Rhonda says:
Yeah…sticky..can’t do it either…..what really freaks me out? Sand on my hands and body from the beach…yet I LOVE the beach!! I just can’t have the sand touch my hands or IMMEDIATELY I have to wash it off. Great pictures of the 2 of you….reminds me of my mom and I at my grandmother’s doing the same thing. Myself and my 4 kids, not so much…….
Rhonda
Paty says:
She is adorable! Tomorrow is the boys first day off! We have 4. We will make the gingerbread house that I got a few weeks ago and I cannot wait! Hopefully our grown daughter will be able to join in the fun!
Vicky says:
Absolutely adorable – precious memories in the making!
Jenn says:
“I have really never seen such beautiful cookies. OK that’s a lie, those are not cute”.
OMG – I laughed right out loud when I read your above statement!!! Thank you for making me laugh & also, thanks for our chat last night! It was great to talk to you again.
Jenni Williams says:
Adorable! I love the matching aprons too. Your new kitchen is gorgeous.
Laurie says:
She is so adorrable. I love the memories you are making with her. Merry Christmas to all!
Liz T. says:
Very sweet. Have a wonderful Christmas!
Rachel R. says:
I’m the same way! Piper (my 18 month old) loves spegetti. She loses her mind over it. But, OMG that sauce gets everywhere and I can’t even watch. I usually strip her down to eat it and then immediately put her in the tub. It just freaks me out seeing it on her hands and then watching her rub her eyes or hair.
And now you have made me want to decorate cookies with her. This is probably going to end WAY messier than it did with Annie, but I’m with you. I’ll do anything to see my baby smile.
Merry Christmas Spohrs!
Emily E says:
My husband is the exact same way. He just doesn’t do sticky. He hands the kids off to me when they are sticky. :p
Jenn says:
Great pictures! What a fantastic memory!
Sue Lucero says:
Heather, some of those pictures belong on the cover of a magazine. Fantastic!!!!
Karen says:
Looks like you both had a great time decorating cookies. My daughter and I will decorate ours on Saturday so she can leave them out for Santa.
Sandy says:
Awww, poor Rigby! She looks so pitiful in her pictures!
Looks like you and Annie had a great time. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Ashley says:
Oh. My. Gosh. Priceless moments, perfect pics!!! I want to make cookies with Jaxon this weekend…. I just have to find the right recipe for icing… b/c I don’t like store bought..
Merry Christmas from Oklahoma, Spohrs!
Emily says:
I’m the exact same way and am trying to loosen up a bit as well. I actally let my son fingerpaint the other day (gasp!). You two are so cute though! And I have some serious ponytail envy for Annie. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!
Karen says:
That child is the luckiest girl on the planet. You are WONDERFUL parents.
Summer says:
Adorable post, love the pictures! Sometimes it helps me to just remember that they will get clean after the project, etc… and to just let it go!
Cara says:
LOL, I do have a trick for the colored sugar. We had a fall Harvest Party at teh Armory for the kids. I was incharge of the cookie decorating table. I went to the dollar store and bought salt and pepper shakers with big holes in the lids. I filled them up and let the kids shake on all the colored sugar they wanted. It was more controlled chaos, but it kept the mess down.
Michelle in MO says:
This is one of the cutest sets of photos you’ve ever posted! So cute that I’d love to have them printed in one of those snazzy flip books you can get. But, uhm, you don’t know me so that is kind of weird. I’ll just bookmark this entry and come back to it.
I won’t do so 93493 times like I have that video of the two Asian babies laughing at a spray bottle.
Melissa says:
This is adorable!
Amy says:
Heather, it is so sweet that you and Annie can do things like this together! I think it’ll be awhile before I can get Nate to sit still long enough to concentrate. Your matching aprons are, I think, the cutest thing I’ve seen all year long, and I love the purple star cookie that is there for Maddie. Your girls are so lucky to have you. xo
jessica Wood says:
You are both beautiful but her hair! Aw it’s so beautiful!! Great job letting go and enjoying the moment
Jackie M says:
I love this post! Annie is just so stinkin precious, sticky fingers and all. Have fun eating the cookies!
Shan says:
These are some of THE MOST precious photos I’ve seen you put on your blog. I absolutely love them. Rigby is too darn cute as well. Lub em lub em lub em!!
Brooke says:
I am the same way. I have gone out and bought those soap dispensers that are sensored so I don’t have to touch the pump and get more germs on my hands. My 4 year old, however, could care less about clean hands. I had debated doing sugar cookies with her this year for the same reason as you, but after reading this post I decided that I must. Merry Christmas!
Skye says:
You should make Rigby some homemade dog treats and cut them with cookie cutters so she doesn’t feel left out! I use this gingerbread dog treat recipe: http://www.smalldogsparadise.com/dog-treats-recipes/ginger-bread-bones/ I cut them out with mini gingerbread person shapes. My boyfriend’s dog loves them
Lydia says:
Um, I know this was supposed to be funny, but I totally teared up! Those pictures did me in, she is such a charming child.
Chris Lopez says:
All I can say is PRICELESS, so darn cute
Chelsea says:
All of those pictures are adorable. Also, I moved to CA from “back east” 11 years ago and “jimmies” is a word that tends to earn me funny looks out here. It made me so happy to see you using it! It’s the little things…
Rita from the Chicago says:
Your kitchen is gorgeous!! And as always, Annie is adorable!
Kelly says:
Oh, those faces! So cute that you had the exact same expression on your faces!
I hate sticky too, but with kids, it’s just something that you have to learn to live with it!
Gwen says:
sticky washes off, the memory of cookie fun will leave lasting memories for both you. when I saw Rigby I started laughing, thinking of the post where Annie shouted Wigby when seeing the sheep. No matter how cranky I am, Annie always makes me giggle.
Melissa says:
Some of my favorite Christmas memories are decorating cookies with my mom I’m glad you and Annie had fun. And those cookies look….awesome?? Merry Christmas!
LaurieSL says:
What a wonderful time and great pictures to capture that beautiful memory! By the way, your kitchen is gorgeous! Great Christmas decorations too!
Lora says:
SO CUTE!!! I love the same faces
Suzanne says:
These are precious! I’m sure you hear this a lot, but Annie sure looks a lot like Mike!!
heather says:
That’s so cute. Those are memories that will stick with you. (haha)
Debbie B says:
This post made me cry. I don’t know exactly why. Maybe because my “little girl” will be 24 years old next month and I miss those fun, and messy, mother daughter activities. Annabel is so adorable and her expressions are priceless. Keep up the good work Heather. You are such a great Mommy.
Carrie says:
Love the pictures! I can so relate to the avoidance of mess- I can’t stand it either. My oldest child has a sensory disorder, so he’s also obsessively clean, which works for me. My younger child though is a typical toddler, and I’ve also had to learn to do the deep breathing thing I am inspired though to go make some sugar cookies so that the kids can decorate them!
Chandra says:
Am I the only one who thinks Annie has the best hair ever? JEALOUS!
Lanie says:
Great smile – definitely worth the sticky hands! Looks like a lot of fun for everyone. Take care.
noe says:
i’ve envied your kitchen since the first time you posted photos of your new house.
and i LOVE that you fought the need to wash annie’s hands…
GREAT!
Rebecca says:
I think the Annie sprinkled cookies look great and I’m not just sucking up so that I can win the contest. I promise. Annie’s cookies are decorated with love.
Jessica says:
I thought I would have a harder time with the sticky face, messy side of kids, but it doesn’t bother me as much as I thought. I don’t let him out in public with a dirty face (that often) but around the house, it happens!
Lori says:
That was so cute. I can feel the love you two have for each other. Precious.
Tonya says:
Those are the sweetest pics ever!
Sarah G says:
It’s the cleaning up that freaks me out! Love the aprons
Jeanie says:
What wonderful memories you’re making for Annie. The aprons and pictures are adorable.
Lisa says:
Ahh, this is so me. I don’t like messy or sticky, but I have a one-year-old (as of yesterday!) and need to get over it more often. Oh, and the second SAME FACE photo is priceless.
sharon says:
You are preaching to the choir on this one! I HATE sticky, messy kids but mine inevitably are ‘those’ kids who always have something stuck to them. I love to bake with my littles but always cringe at the idea of how messy it is. I’ve come to accept that the mess and clean up are worth their smiles of joy. My son even likes to joke that he likes to make the flour “poof” when it goes it the mixer, sigh.
Lindsey says:
Love the darling pictures of that adorable Annie!! You are such a great mom. I think the sticky-phobia will gradually go away after a while. I wonder if they make kid-sized disposable gloves?? Would that help?
I remember dreading the whole finger painting days even though we did it outside. I think there are recipes for soap finger paint which you then let your kid paint on the tile above the tub. Might be fun for your little messy! I hope this is a great Christmas for you and yours!
Monica says:
I can relate! I didn’t want to do cookies with my kids not because of the stickiness but because of the mess! I did it anyway, like you did and it was worth it of course. You two in your matching aprons is so cute. And that last, I think that says it all.
Cara says:
Bout to do that myself tomorrow, girl.
A Mamas’s gotta do what a Mama’s gotta do.
alex m says:
As if your tv rules wasn’t proof enough, I knew I liked you! My daughter hates being sticky too which was an awesome discovery. When I’d feed her in her high chair as a baby I’d give her a wet paper towel and I’d feed her a bite and she’d wipe her own face!
Love the shots of you and Annie and your similar expressions. You should blow those up and frame them. Imagine walking down a hall in your home and seeing those. You could never be in a bad mood after seeing them!
Katie K says:
Beautiful kitchen! Happy Holidays XOXOX
scarpeke says:
You are building memories and traditions to last a lifetime. My mom and I still make Christmas cookies together the day after Thanksgiving and I am 33! I can’t imagine doing it any other way. Best part is she still let’s me lick the beaters!
Me says:
Very sweet!
Sachi says:
One of my first memories is also making some cookies. It’s such a sweet memory I’ve kept throughout my life. I’m sure Annie will treasure your cookie-making fun together as she gets older and is more able to remember it.
Erica says:
My daughter just turned one, I can’t wait to do this next year. I am also not thrilled about the sticky mess but so worth it.
Bria says:
I recently decorated cookies with my 2 1/2 year old son….this post describes our experience perfectly…including the anti-skicky thing.
karen says:
My kids start the day clean. At the end of the day if they are dirty I know they’ve had fun and played and learnt.
Now I have one who’s 16 its not so good when he’s filthy at the end of the day as he, as a teenager, hates to go in the shower. However the 8 year old will scrub up, and clean her nails, in time for bed and wake up the next day for more playing and learning….and getting dirty of course.
Jessica Stringer says:
SO sweet! I can remember baking cookies at Christmas with my mom and Grandma. Still do it to this day! Enjoy the memory making!