of monsters and kisses



tonight was to be the celebration of T- turning one.





this is a big deal. Not only is T- the cutest girl baby in the hood and the best dressed (I've already begged her mother to take me shopping with her if I ever have a girl) she's also the MonkeyFishes first crush.

It's one of those things where we parents good humoredly wink and nudge about our offspring being involved. "look, Wyatt, it's your girlfriend!" for example. We're not seriously arranging a marriage between our one-year-olds. Though if Wyatt did decide at the ripe old age of 25 that T- was STILL the cutest girl in the hood, I wouldn't mind. I'm just saying.

But then, the fateful day at church when Wyatt and T- were sitting next to each other on the bench, sharing board books and cheerios, and Wyatt reached over and held T-'s hand.

My eyes got wide. T-'s moms eyes got wide. And we took turns alternating between melting over the sweet innosence, and then snickering at the scandal of it all.

But I started to pay attention, and it turns out that Wyatt does know the difference between T- and all the other babies, and he does favor her. Any time they get together, he either watches her with intense intrigue (a definite sign of his interest) or goes out of his way to ignore her (a definite sign of his interest).

So, naturally, her first birthday was a big deal for us.

I wanted to make her gift a big deal, too. Except that I was limited because of Project Great Depression.

Bill and I have declared ourselves as being in our own Great Depression - partly out of necessity, partly out of respect for both the ACTUAL Great Depression and for our current economy. We've taken to reminding each other loudly that "it's the Great Depression!". Like...when Bill doesn't pour the last few cheerios (and therefore all the cereal dust) into his bowl and instead moves to throw it all away, Stepper leaps for the box and cries, "You CAN'T throw that away! It's the Great Depression!" or when we're grocery shopping, and Stepper tries to sneak a non-neccessity into the cart, Bill peers at her over his glasses (or where I would imagine his glasses would be were he a real Great Depression veteran - Bill doesn't wear glasses) and says, "my darling, it is the Great Depression."

It's like a code word for a bunch of unspoken and miserable rules. But it's also a lot of fun!

Anyway, it WAS the Great Depression - and I was without a car (have I mentioned how much I hate having only one car?) and so I had to get creative.

Was there something I could make or fashion - in true Great Depression style - for T--- to help her to know how much we all adore her?

Well, she was turning one. A carton of cookies or a loaf of fresh baked bread was a bit...lame. Fabric scraps...

Fabric scraps!

So I initiated Plan First Birthday - whipped out my scraps, my sewing machine, my baggie of colorful buttons, my scissors, my black beans, my spicy, and came up with this.






The note says "please take good care of this monster".

But really, what we mean is: Monster, please take good care of this little girl. Because she is going to grow up to be a knock-out. And there will be plenty of boys who come along who aren't good enough for her, and may break her heart a little. So please, Monster, be there for her to hug and to cry on. And please terrorize and eat up all the boys who don't treat her like a queen.


Thank you very much, Monster.

Sincerely,

Stepper, Bill, & Wyatt.




PS: Wyatt had ideas all his own of what he'd give T--- for her first birthday. Right in the middle of it all, he gives her a kiss RIGHT ON THE LIPS. Everyone was dying, it was so cute, and I spent the remainder of the evening blushing furiously.

1 comments:

Tamsin said...

1. It's so cute that Wyatt has a girlfriend! And what excellent taste :) Our 3 year old nephew has been "going out with" (or really, staying in with) his cute neighborhood girlfriend for over a year now. It's adorable, and slightly unnerving.

2. I wholeheartedly approve of your monster. Trés spicy!