Two Exceptions

Okay, anyone who knows me knows that I try hard not to buy gifts to give to the girls if it's not a gift-giving-time. (This is in order to keep materialism/consumerism muted a bit in the family. Of course I'm not being a very good example with my little Roomba a month before my own birthday, . . . ) But today I just had to make an exception. About two years ago one of Leia's good friends accidentally broke one of her very favorite toys: her glitter baton. The baton itself was a used freebie from yet another friend, but it fast became one of Leia's favorite things to play with. Anyway, on one playdate it cracked. Glitter and water all over the floor. Shards of sharp plastic went everywhere. The baton was history, and it wasn't even her fault. Leia cried. I told Leia Rose on that day that if I ever found one of those batons, I would get her one. Well, today I found one!!! (Very similar to your broom story, Karin!) We stopped into Party City after dinner (because I needed to get a few dinosaur napkins/plates/cups for Leia's party) and right near the party stuff was a box of, what else, glitter batons!!! Well, I got one for Leia and for Annie right away. It was a happy night!
Okay, Leia's almost too old to take these type of pictures now, . . . but I made another exception here because Leia created a new game called "Crawling Naked with Annie." Both of them are laughing really hard! And it's pretty easy to see how both of them wore the same two-piece bathing suit as well as how different their hair color is. : )

Just another little aside: Leia has been waiting all week to play with Bailey and Colin again (from next door). Well, she came home from the school picnic in anticipation and had all of her hopes dashed when Bailey and Colin weren't home. Leia cried hard. Leia Rose has asked to go over there every single day this week. This is a new aspect of parenting for me, and I need to assess how to handle it. I want to make sure if it's okay with the parents and when it's okay with the parents for Leia to go over. I don't want her to be a burden on them, . . . and I also want to play with her myself, [. . . and I also want her to remain safe. It's hard for me to release that control, especially about safety] but then it dawned on me that, just perhaps, this begins the time when Leia Rose would rather play with her friends than with her Mamma. Gosh, I hoped that I'd have a few more years! Now it's time for me to cry a bit!