Easter Egg hunt

Future proctologist?

Let's hope not!

Forever young

Mommy, I'm growing up so fast.

Oh no! I will miss little boy Sawyer so much!

That's okay, Mommy. I'm still right here. I'm not going into the forest. I'm right here!

Fashion Loves Company

Sage's newest fashion accessory is her Little Einstein's hooded towel. The child wakes up in the morning, comes downstairs, and starts yelling for Rocket. She wears it constantly around the house, but what's trendsetting if you're not showing it off to the world?

She will not leave home without it. She's worn it to Target, to the grocery store, to preschool to pick up Sawyer.

And she thinks Garbo looks really cool wearing it too..

This is where it starts

Sawyer has talked about a little girl in his preschool class, J, since he started going last September. We finally arranged a playdate. It took the two about an hour to really start playing together. Then there was no stopping them. They sat in the red wagon in our garage and made an "apartment" - though neither could say what an apartment was. Apparently, it consisted of collecting every piece of play food and any other toy they could grab and stowing it in the wagon. Then they both sat and pulled a blanket over their laps.

Today they both went to a birthday party of another girl from preschool. But it might as well have been another playdate a deux. Because they didn't really interact with anyone else. They spent most of the party walking around holding hands like a sweet little couple. Of course, being that they are 3, there was a lot of tugging each other in opposite directions. Most of the time, J won - something Sawyer should get used to!

J is a cutie, with long strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She's also very similar to Sawyer in temperment - not too crazy.

So now my boy has his very first girlfriend. The first of many, we're sure. At least, so far, he's chosen wisely.

Shoes, glorious shoes!

My daughter has a problem. A BIG problem. I can only conclude that it is hereditary, passed along with her long legs, tilted eyes and pouty lips.

This all came to light when I took her to Nordstrom to buy her a pair of sandals. Not only did she bat away and declare "NO!" to several pairs I tried to put on her, she also became fixated on a certain pair she just HAD TO HAVE!

Then I dared look at shoes for Sawyer (who was at preschool at the time). Sage started pulling shoes off the displays. These were for big girls, but Sage did not care. Because she saw the Bling. The Sparkle. This was the absolute greatest shoe ever put on this planet, and Sage knew exactly what to do with it. She put it right on. And started parading around before making a break for the door.

Luckily, I caught her before my daughter got her first criminal offense. But I couldn't blame her. Because as you all know, I cannot resist anything that reflects light. I am like a goat, attracted to the shiny stuff.

And on shoes. SHOES! My little girl, my heart, also has the gene. I'm so proud!

Life Lesson

We went to the park this morning, where Sawyer found a little boy to play with. He is now at the age where he will try to make a friend on his own, which is infinitely more fun than hanging with Mommy and his baby sister.

This little boy, whose name was John, turns 3 in April, so he's a few months younger than Sawyer. His mother, an older mom, told me John is not very verbal but is very physical. Anyway, he and Sawyer had a great time going down slides together (on the little kids equipment), climbing up ladders, and chasing each other.

But then John went up on the big kids' equipment. Sawyer gamely followed - until John found an older boy and the two started zipping down the big scary slides that Sawyer won't dare go on. So my poor little guy sat down on the bridge near those slides while the other two boys raced around like crazy. Soon, Sawyer walked back down the stairs. Alone. Because John has no fear of big bumpy slides that can bounce your spleen into your throat.

I could tell by the slump of his shoulders and his slow steps that Sawyer was disappointed to lose his new friend.

My heart broke.

When I pointed out John to Sawyer a few moments later and told Sawyer, "there's John, he's going down the twisty slide, would you like to play too?" Sawyer looked interested for a moment. But then he told me that he was "too busy digging in the sand" and didn't want to play with John anymore.

What do I say? Friends will move on. They will like someone else better because he can climb higher or run faster or he's not cool enough or he wears the wrong jeans - or any other reason that has nothing to do with Sawyer at all. He shouldn't change who he is because of what someone else wants. He is still so, so special, with a smile that melts glaciers and a twinkle in his eye unsurpassed by all the stars in the heavens.

But Sawyer is 3. All he knows is that on this sunny, perfect day, he was left behind. Luckily, it's nothing that a handful of goldfish crackers and making a really cool sand castle can't fix.

If only it could always be that easy to heal my boy's hurt.

The Joy of Two

Ugh

So I'd been working on a post, actually putting some time and effort into it, and I signed off AOL before saving it. It's like the sunken souffle conundrum: once it falls flat, is it worth eating anyway because it's chocolate, or do I start over from scratch? Let me ponder...