Mary-doll's first day

Erin has a favorite doll.

It's an American girl "Bitty Baby" doll, that Santa left under the tree last Christmas. Thanks to Grandma and Pop, Mary-doll has quite a few stylish outfits, and Erin even has a nightgown that matches one of her doll's pajamas. Each night, Mary-doll gets changed out of her dress and into a pair of pajamas, and then she spends the night sleeping beside Erin on the pillow. She also accompanies Erin for every afternoon nap, and frequently sits beside Erin as she plays or watches TV.

Erin has always wanted to bring the doll to school to meet her teacher and her classmates, but each time her school has a "show and tell", a paper bag is sent home with every student. The show and tell item must fit into the bag, and unfortunately Mary-doll is too large for the brown bag. So we've always managed to find another exciting item for Erin to bring to school, while Mary-doll remains home with Mommy and Brian.

But Erin has been blessed with an amazing teacher, who, over the course of the year, has come to understand how important Erin's doll really is to her. Ms. Kim actually managed to change the school's show and tell rules simply for Erin's sake. So today, each child was allowed bring to school one favorite item, of any shape and size...no brown bags necessary.

Erin spent a great deal of time deciding which outfit to put on Mary-doll before her first day of school. After much deliberation, she decided to dress Mary in her nightgown, so that she could explain to the class that she owned the exact same nightgown, allowing her to match her doll each night.

Mary's first day was everything Erin had hoped it would be. Ms. Kim actually had an extra seat at the coloring table, so that Mary could sit right next to Erin all day. Usually, show and tell items sit in the corner of the room until it's time for the big event, so this was another bending-of-the-rules for Erin's sake. Erin had an ear-to-ear grin as she ran out of the schoolhouse this afternoon, and she babbled the whole way home, telling me all about her special day.

Erin loves her school, and she especially loves her teacher. I can see why. Sometimes, bending-the-rules can be a good thing. Just ask Mary-doll, who is now cuddled up in Erin's bed...both of them clad in their matching nightgowns, fast asleep after a busy day at school.

The Only Boy

He plays with his trucks, holding one in each hand. He pushes them across the floor and laughs hysterically when they crash into each other.
"He's such a boy", I find myself thinking.

He pours his bucket of dinosaurs out onto the rug, and then sets them all up around the room. He makes loud growling noises as they advance upon each other and fight mock battles.
"He's so different from his sisters...he's such a boy", I find myself thinking.

He grabs Amy's toy shopping cart and races around the house with it. He smashes into every wall, door and piece of furniture, and howls with laughter when he bounces off a wall and lands hard on the floor.
"He's such a little boy", I think to myself.

He cracks his little head hard on the kitchen table when he attempts to stand up before crawling out from underneath, but he doesn't cry. He lets out a yell of aggravation and continues on his way.
"He's such a boy", I think once again.

But at the end of an afternoon of rough play, he toddles over to me and lifts up his arms. I pick him up, and he cuddles in close. He puts his head on my shoulder and his arms around my neck. His little hand pats my back, and we spend a few minutes snuggling.

"He's still such a baby", I find myself thinking. "Not so different from his sisters after all. He's still my little baby boy".