Blood, Sweat, and Sawdust

My wife recently informed me that our two year-old son was in need of a small foot stool to help him learn how to brush his teeth.  I took this as an opportunity to practice a few skills I haven’t yet mastered.  I decided to make the stool from soft-maple.  I used a very simple design and focused on the joinery.  The legs attach to the top via hand-cut dados, and the legs are connected via a stretcher that uses mortise and tenon joinery.  This was my first attempt at through mortises.  The results were sufficient but could have been cleaner.  I would have preferred a shellac finish, but my wife insisted on painting the stool to match the bathroom.  I think it turned out great.