Growing up, one of our most beloved toys was the play kitchen in our basement. It had a mini fridge and a sink with a red checkered “backsplash” complete with a picture of a window and outdoor scenery. It was the focal point for many games of “house” and “restaurant” and it’s still the first thing that comes to mind when I picture our childhood playroom in the basement of my parents’ house.  So when my parents asked if they could get Reese a play kitchen for her first birthday, we were all excited.

We chose the Melissa & Doug Cook’s Corner  play kitchen. The kitchen is wooden, which I wanted, and is one of the smaller sets I found, which is also good for us because we don’t have a ton of room. It was delivered to us back in October but I didn’t get around to assembling it until a few weeks ago.  I am taking full advantage of procrastination while I still can.

The assembly was a biatch but somehow I put the whole thing together myself (almost.) After incorrectly attaching them (twice), I sought help from Andrew in putting the hinges on the oven and refrigerator doors.

So far, Reese is having a ball opening the doors and putting rando stuff inside  the “oven” and “refrigerator” (her shoes and socks, blocks, her bowl etc.) Turning the oven and stove knobs, setting the timer (then forgetting it is on and crying when it goes off) are also exciting new activities.

Like most sane people, I think she still prefers the real fridge to the toy fridge (she loves taking the condiments out of the bottom shelf on the refrigerator door) but I know as she gets older she’ll get more into it.

In the pictures above the kitchen is shown in our living room, but it now sits in the corner of our kitchen so Reese can “cook” in the proper setting. I am not one to comment on other people’s ideas of cooking, but I do know that it shouldn’t involve roasting your sippy cup or boiling your socks, so I think we still have some work to do.