Young Love...

How many of you remember your first crush?...Or your first true love? Some of you married your high school sweethearts, like my neighbor. They've been together since she was 19 years old and moved to Arizona to be with him and start a family. I don't think any of us can forget how strong and marvelous those first feelings of romantic love are. Nik met Sidney, in school, 2 years ago-this month. She's a really wonderful girl and I think they are great together. It's really cute (Nik would roll his eyes at me if he could read this) that Nik anticipates their "anniversary" and talks about what he wants to get her. I love hearing the excitement in his voice when he talks about getting to see her on the weekend and how much he misses her when he comes out to see me. I can't help being a mom though and worrying about that first heartbreak either. I guess, as Khalil Gibran says, "He who has not looked on Sorrow will never see Joy."

Here is their Prom picture and I thought all of you would enjoy seeing Sidney and what they look like together. Holy crow! I had a baby girl who learned to walk and a 16 year old son who went to his first prom this year. I have to go take an asprin :)

The next step...

Today something amazing happened. Well...okay....amazing to me. When I get home from work today, Eric tells me that Reilly did something today that he's never seen her do. Today, Reilly put her Raggedy Ann doll on the couch and fed her a bottle. That's right, Reilly played pretend. My little girl is entering the realm of "lets play dolly." I loved my dolls, as a little girl, and wondered if Reilly would enjoy them, too. I wondered if dolls were becoming a thing of the past with Brats dolls and battery operated Barbies their eventual replacement. When her Uncle Len and Aunt Linda gave us a bag of well loved stuffed animals (some of them in the family for years!) I unpacked them to place around Reilly's room and discovered the bag included a Raggedy Ann and Andy set. I absolutely love them and so it tickles me that Raggedy Ann was the first benefactress of my little girl's tender ministrations. Too cute!