Tooth Fairies and Leprechauns

Some parents look down upon encouraging the belief in mythical little creatures. I've been told that children will believe their parents have lied to them and begin to distrust what they say. I've also been told that once they see these creatures are false, they will begin to wonder if Jesus and God are only fairy tales told by parents to keep children on their best behavior. But, I don't buy it. It's fun and innocent. Did I mention that it also really adds excitement to our home?

We will be leaving for Spring Break in a few days. We're going to Disneyland and making several other stops in Southern California, but do you know what kept AC up last night? She was concerned about that top front tooth of hers that is lose. She was really afraid that it would fall out during the night and "get digested". This happened to one other tooth and the Tooth Fairy brought less than her friend, Molly, had received for her tooth. AC is therefore convinced that if you swallow a tooth, it diminishes it's value in fairy land.


Another topic of conversation lately is what we should do for the leprechauns this year. For three years we have created traps to catch them when they come to our house on the eve of St. Patrick's Day, all of which have failed miserably. They always leave these little notes behind that kindly mock our attempts then do silly things like rearrange pictures hanging on the walls, move playroom furniture or trail shamrock confetti all over the house. This year, Anna Cate has decided that she will not try to catch them, but instead just leave some fake gold and chocolate for them. She even wrote a note to them so they would understand. (I love that she chose to close with "Sincerely" because she said she didn't really love them and wasn't sure if they were her friends)

Maybe other parents have some valid points. If Anna Cate ever asks me out right, I will tell her the truth. But until then, I'm going to let wonder and magic fill our home and soak in all the laughter that comes because of it.

A Whole New World

Today, for the first time, I dropped Anna Cate at a friend's house and...left. It was a big step for both of us. You see, she has been invited to come play at other friends' homes before, but she always said she was "just not ready" She preferred to host, but today she said she was ready and excited.

It's interesting, because I remember the first times I ventured into a friends' homes on my own. It was like entering a whole new world. I remember the interest at seeing how different families did different things. Their houses were organized differently than mine, they ate different food, they had different "things". Almost always, the homes were louder than mine. Generally, they had more people hanging around and some sibling causing trouble. In Anna Cate's case, her friend has five older brothers, three of which still live at home - talk about a different environment!

I left as she and her friend scurried upstairs to explore her bedroom, which was "pink, just pink everywhere" and returned to find them swinging in the rope swing in the front yard. She hasn't shared anything about the trip other than to say it was "fun". I'm guessing she will open up and tell me little bits of her adventure in conversations throughout the next couple of days, or maybe this is one of the first experiences she will have and want to keep to herself. Either way, I'm proud of her and the self-knowledge she possesses at the age of six. I'm glad I let her make the decision and I'm content to see her continue to grow at her own pace.

When she got home, she asked if we could snuggle on the couch. She said she had missed me some. She may have entered a whole new world, but for now,she's still my baby girl.